


west side, east side (it doesn't matter anymore)

by juniperwillows



Series: west side, east side [1]
Category: EXO (Band), GOT7, NCT (Band), Stray Kids (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gang GOT7, Gang NCT, Gen, Hacker Activist Stray Kids, Homelessness, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Protective Hyungs, Redemption, Street Kids TXT, Street kids AU, Vigilante BTS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25753894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juniperwillows/pseuds/juniperwillows
Summary: They've all found ways to stay out of each other’s territory, NCT and GOT7 running jobs like they always do, too powerful to be questioned, the Strays, petitioning for better rights for powered people, if only someone wouldlisten, BTS, reigning vigilante justice on those the police can’t control, and TXT, just trying to survive another harsh winter on the streets.Then EXO starts snatching powered kids again, threatening all of them, and they can’t afford to go their separate ways anymore.orChan’s trying to make sure these kids TXT don’t die in the coldest winter they’ve had in years, Bambam's trying to make sure theStraysdon’t die on their (in his opinion) naive quest for societal change, Yoongi doesn’t know why he keeps running into the same tall but young (and very inexperienced) robbers, and honestly, what was Jinyoung supposed to do, not intervene and let that kid get arrested for just trying to steal enough food to survive?
Series: west side, east side [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884892
Comments: 123
Kudos: 342





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Tomorrow X Together's "Puma" which I have listened to on repeat these past few weeks.
> 
> TW: this fic deals with themes of homelessness, including struggles to find food. It also deals with themes of discrimination, as in this universe powered people are often viewed with suspicion because of their abilities. Also someone does throw up in this chapter, but it is very brief and not graphically described. Please take care of yourself!
> 
> This is a work of fiction in a made up world and not meant to imply anything about real people.

“Hey kid,” a voice from the shadows of the alley called. 

Yeonjun stilled on the sidewalk, shifting his feet to get ready to run if he had to.

But then a familiar figure stepped out, hands deep in the pockets of his leather jacket, and Yeonjun relaxed slightly. _Chan, the leader of the Strays._ The man jerked his head, motioning him over, and melted back into the gloom.

Yeonjun warred with himself for a long moment, debated just ignoring the man and walking away. But the Strays hadn’t tried anything with them; in fact they'd actually supplied them with helpful information from time to time. That didn’t mean that things couldn’t change. But at the same time... Chan wouldn’t be here in person if it wasn’t important. 

_Besides, Yeonjun could defend himself if he had to._

He surveyed the alleyway as he entered to be sure they were alone, blinking until his eyes adjusted to the dim light, not quite trusting the man not ambush him if the chance arose. 

“What is it?” he asked, angling his back towards the wall, with one foot still pointed in the direction of the alley’s entrance in case he needed to make a quick escape. 

The leader didn’t seem bothered at him taking the more defensive position, instead leaning up against the grimy wall of the alley several yards away. Perhaps he was trying to make Yeonjun feel safer. The teen scoffed internally at the thought. He wasn't naive enough that such a petty display would make him drop his guard.

“EXO’s on the hunt again.” Chan said. “Thought you’d like a warning.”

 _Shit._ Yeonjun’s mind started to spin. He had to get home, as soon as possible, warn the others to be more careful than usual. He dipped his head in thanks and turned to go.

“Kid, wait.”

Chan pushed himself off the wall, something almost... _concerned?_ in his expression. He fiddled with the zipper of his leather jacket and finally crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you guys doing alright?”

“We’re fine.” Yeonjun said, a bit more sharply than he meant.

There was something knowing in Chan’s eyes as he studied the younger boy. “It’s been dipping below freezing at night and business has been scarce. If you guys need any help… the offer still stands.”

“I said, we’re _fine_.” Yeonjun ground out, fists clenching. “We don’t need your help."

Chan held up his hands, taking a step back. “Okay, okay. I get it, I get it. Just… stay safe.”

Yeonjun shot him a long, wary look, trying to decipher his words. The man was watching him, and if Yeonjun wasn’t mistaken, the leader looked almost… _sad_. Not knowing what else to do, the teen gave a sharp nod and exited the alleyway without looking back. 

He spent a few minutes winding through the streets to be sure Chan didn’t have someone following him, before he finally headed for the east side of the city and home. 

He passed Jaehyun and Chenle of NCT on the sidewalk. He didn’t miss the way Jaehyun tugged the younger boy to the other side of the sidewalk as he approached. Yeonjun was careful not to make any expression, change in speed, sudden moments that might set something off. As they passed, he and Jaehyun shared a wary nod. 

Their relationship with NCT was tense, neither quite sure what to make of the other. NCT was one of the most powerful gangs on the street, which was expected given their sheer size and high number of powered members. Yeonjun didn't know why the group didn't like them, TXT had never made any threat towards them- _how could they?-_ but the gang didn't seem eager to be friendly all the same.

NCT was notoriously suspicious of other groups, something about being betrayed a couple of years back? Yeonjun had never heard the full story.

It could all be rumor anyway, like that absurd gossip floating around that the Strays were criminal hackers wanted by the government, which had to be the most ridiculous thing Yeonjun had ever heard. He barely even _knew_ Chan and the man kept trying to help him. They were pacifist _hippies_ , with their peaceful protests and petitions down at town hall every weekend. Not that the fact made Yeonjun _trust_ them. Appearances weren't everything, after all. 

As for NCT’s moral code, he wasn’t sure. They weren’t like _EXO._ But they took jobs, had connections in the underground. And god forbid anyone threaten their members. The wrath of Taeyong, their leader, was _legendary._ All the same, Yeonjun hadn’t seen NCT purposefully setting out to cause harm that was unprovoked, which gave them a least a couple of points in his book.

And Taehyun said that a couple of them had stumbled upon him dumpster-diving back before TXT had found each other, and invited him to join them for a meal, but he’d been too wary to accept. 

Yeonjun pulled his hood up as he crossed the street, sinking into it's depths. He ducked through the alleyway next to a pharmacy that had been boarded up for months, dusty and dark. There was one more block and then he was clambering over the chain link fence into the east end and dropping into the cracked pavement. He skirted the edge of the main homeless settlement, giving a wide berth to a hunched man mumbling to himself next to a can fire, and keeping his eyes fixed ahead. 

NCT had their base in an abandoned warehouse on the west side of the city. TXT was always careful to steer clear of even the blocks surrounding their territory, as Taeyong didn't take lightly to trespassers. Yeonjun didn't know where the Strays lived, except that it was somewhere in the south side of the city. But it wasn’t rare to see both groups' members, often in pairs, out in other parts of town. The only place they didn’t go often was east, but no one hung out there if they could help it. Too many druggies.

TXT, unfortunately, didn’t have a choice. The other districts had been too full, too much of a chance of encroaching on another groups' territory and risking a skirmish. And the north was far too active these days, what with the vigilantes patrolling, sticking their noses into everything. They couldn’t risk it. 

It took a few minutes before Yeonjun reached the outskirts, shimmying over another tall chain-link fence and dropping down on the other side into a mostly deserted train yard. He wove his way through the rows of rusting train cars until he could see their faded orange boxcar dully reflecting the light of the setting sun.

Taking a last wary look around, he approached and knocked a quick rhythm into the metal before stepping back.

After a long moment, the hinges screeched as the wide door slid slowly open a few inches, just enough for Beomgyu’s face to peek out of the darkness. The suspicion melted off his face as he caught sight of Yeonjun and he grinned, relaxing. 

“Hyung's back!” 

Yeonjun took the offered hand, letting Beomgyu heft him up into the tall lip of the boxcar. Together they slid the heavy door back into place, wincing a bit at the noise, and Yeonjun mentally made a note to buy some oil or something so they didn’t wake the entire east district every time they opened their own door. 

He turned around in time to be crowded by Taehyun and Kai.

“How did it go, hyung?" The youngest asked, bouncing on his toes. _Yeonjun wished he had even half of Kai's energy this late in the day._ "Did you get anything good? Did you run into any other gangs?

Yeonjun shrugged, hoping to avoid that line of questioning, and tossed his backpack to Kai. “Go ahead and unpack. It’s not much but it’s the best I could do. Is Soobin back yet?”

“Not yet.” Taehyun said. He turned nervous eyes to Yeonjun as Kai dug quickly through the bag. “Why, is something wrong?”

Yeonjun waved a hand. “Aish, stop worrying.” He forced himself to relax, dropping down into one of the old cushions they’d rescued from a curb in the south end a few months ago. “I’m sure you’ll be the first to know, anyway.”

“Hyung, is this... everything?” Kai’s voice was quiet and hesitant as he looked over the single box of granola bars and small loaf of bread.

Yeonjun sighed, slumping a little further into the cushion. “Yeah. No one’s out today because of the rain. I was there for two hours and only managed one wallet. Couldn’t swipe from the outdoor displays because everything was inside, out of the rain.” 

Taehyun also looked downcast, eyeing the meager food longingly. Yeonjun felt guilt stir in his chest, like it always seemed to when he didn’t manage to provide what he wished he could for them all.

“We’ll get more tomorrow and make up for it with a big meal.” he said, with confidence he didn’t feel.

Beomgyu - _bless him-_ smiled, wide and vibrant, and settled down to sit next to Yeonjun. “Of course, hyung. This is much better than nothing at all.”

And that of course, reminded them all of the grim reality that it _could_ have been nothing at all today. It’d been tougher to get food since the outdoor markets closed down for the winter. Grocery stores, with their security cameras and clerks, were much more difficult to swipe from. 

“Of course it is!” Kai said quickly. He shot Yeonjun a small smile as well. “Thank you, hyung. I didn’t mean to complain.”

Yeonjun waved his hand. He hadn’t taken it that way. They were growing boys and they deserved to be eating three square meals a day and snacks besides... but that just wasn’t a reality. _Maybe one day._

"Kai almost electrocuted us today while we were doing the wash." Taehyun announced with a grin, ignoring the way the younger boy flushed and shoved him. 

"It was an accident!" Kai protested, plopping down on a wooden crate on the other side of the table. 

He knew that Taehyun was just trying to lighten the mood, but after the news Yeonjun had gotten from Chan, he couldn't help the alarm that shot through him.

"No one saw you, right?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "No, hyung. I know the rules."

_He didn't understand- Someone could have seen and reported it- EXO had eyes all over the city and they were on the hunt now-_

"Kai, I know it's hard to control right now, but you _have_ to be more careful." Yeonjun was unable to keep the urgency out of his tone and turned his gaze to the rest of them. "All of you, actually. _Please_."

Taehyun shrunk a bit into himself at the sudden solemness that had flooded the car and Kai paled a bit. "We will be, hyung." He said quietly.

Beomgyu nodded, but he was eyeing Yeonjun carefully, likely able to tell that something was out of the ordinary. _He was too damn perceptive._

"Did the washing go all right? I bet it was freezing." Yeonjun asked to distract them, and sure enough, Kai and Taehyun went off on a rant about how the river was practically ice, and their fingers had almost gone numb by the end. 

It really _was_ getting cold out; he could still feel the chill in his veins despite being inside for awhile now. Yeonjun focused for a few minutes on raising the temperature in the boxcar, berating himself for not thinking of it earlier, until the lines of Beomgyu’s shoulders finally relaxed and Kai stopped bouncing his knee up and down. 

_Some hot water would do them all good._ He snagged the kettle off their haphazard shelf and filled it with some water from the large plastic jug, listening with half an ear as Kai recounted how someone had stolen their usual washing spot, the _best spot, hyung, how could they?_

"The riverbank doesn't have our name on it." Yeonjun said dryly. He placed one hand under the kettle, focusing. After a few moments, it began to steam and bubble.

There was a clanging knock on the side of the car, and he snatched his hand away. The younger boys all froze, eyes turning to the door. 

“It’s Soobin.” A familiar muffled voice said, followed by the familiar taps of their password rhythm. 

At that, they all relaxed. Beomgyu and Kai went to slide the heavy door open, hoisting a shivering Soobin into the car. 

“You’re soaked, hyung.” Taehyun gasped.

“It’s nothing, I just got caught in the rain earlier.” Soobin assured them, dropping his backpack on the ground.

His hair was flat with the weight of the moisture, sticking to his forehead and dripping water into his eyes. He shook his head, sending droplets flying, like a dog shaking itself off after a bath.

"Soobin!" Yeonjun groaned, wiping moisture off his face.

Their leader just grinned at him. “You guys won’t believe what I got today. Kai, open my bag.”

The younger boys crowded around it, while Yeonjun rooted around their cracked plastic storage box and tossed one of their old ratty towels to Soobin. Beomgyu let out a whoop as Kai lifted out a whole bulk packet of instant noodles and several candy bars. 

“I love this kind!” 

Yeonjun's shoulders slumped with relief, glad they wouldn't have another night of splitting granola bars and listening to each other’s rumbling stomaches. He caught Soobin's eye for a moment and Yeonjun could see the tension behind the smile. _Something had happened._

“Well, there’s no point in waiting, let’s eat!” The leader announced, breaking eye contact.

Despite Yeonjun next to him practically radiating heat, Soobin was still shivering lightly when he was situated in warm clothes around their tiny cardboard box table. He kept trying to hoist noodles into other people.

“Eat it, hyung. You need it.” Kai told him, gently pushing the forkful of noodles back.

Their leader had acquired a cough a few days ago which he insisted was seasonal allergies, but Yeonjun was pretty sure even the youngest could see right through his attempt to keep them all from worrying. Soobin was always like that, pushing away his own problems in lieu of focusing on theirs. Yeonjun had hoped the teen would get over the illness on his own… but Soobin broke out into not one, but two coughing fits during dinner. 

“It’s okay, I think I just swallowed something wrong.” The leader assured them, waving off their concern. 

But Yeonjun managed to brush up against him as he went to put the kettle away. The leader’s skin was warmer than usual, his face flushed in the lamplight. He resolved to make sure Soobin ate more (it escaped no one that he gave the smallest portions to himself) and maybe convince him to steal some cough drops from the corner store the next time the old man was on cash register again. 

The gravel crunched beneath their feet, still slightly damp from the rain earlier in the day. The sun was going down, and the whole train yard was bathed in golden shadows. It almost made Yeonjun think the place was beautiful, if he didn't know better. Soobin ambled around the side of the car, humming to himself as he surveyed the metal.

“Where’s the leak?” 

Yeonjun rolled his eyes and motioned him away from their home. “There’s no leak; I just need to talk to you.”

He waited to speak until they were several yards away, standing in the shadow of one of the rusting freight cars. He risked a glance back at their own. The door was still closed. 

“Chan stopped me today.”

Soobin straightened, all amusement sliding off his face. “What did he want?” 

“Just to warn us, apparently.”

Soobin didn’t look convinced, but Yeonjun knew his next words would override any concern of a threat from the Strays. 

“EXO’s on the hunt again.” 

Soobin stilled, wide eyes snapping to Yeonjun, who gave a grim nod. The leader muttered a low curse, scuffed a hand through his hair. He was silent for a long moment, and Yeonjun stayed quiet, knowing he was processing.

After a moment, Soobin let out a breath, turning abruptly to Yeonjun.

“Someone tried to follow me home today.” He admitted. “Couldn’t tell if it was one of the Strays or someone else. It took me awhile to lose them.”

A flush of dread swept through Yeonjun at the admission. He eyed the train yard, the long shadows growing as the sun set deeper. _So many places to hide._ It didn't feel quite as safe as it had before. 

“EXO wouldn’t be so covert, would they?”

Soobin shrugged, his eyes dark. “Unless they know it's the only way to get all five of us.”

_Shit. Of course._

Having a whole group that was powered was fairly rare, not that they'd meant for it to turn out that way. They hadn’t knownKai and Taehyun were powered until this year, and Kai’s hadn’t manifested until the last few _months._ They had had a little celebration, congratulated them, and were very, _very_ careful not to reveal to the youngest two how big of a target would be painted on their backs if anyone found out. 

Because groups like theirs- street kids without gang affiliation- were one of the most dangerous places for powered kids to be, second of course to being a loner on the street. It was too easy for gangs to spot a powered kid and snatch the member for their own group. After all, how was a bunch of street kids living in a train yard going to fight back against a _gang?_ It’s not like they could go to the police about it either, they were _street kids._ That was why a lot of smaller groups ended up with some level of connection to underground, so they could hold their own, fight back, keep the big groups off their backs. 

Five powered teens- who weren’t claimed by a big group or connected to the underground? With two whose powers were still unpredictable? The only way it could be worse was is if one of them was a telepath. Everyone wanted a telepath. _Small blessings, at least._

“What are we going to do?” Yeonjun whispered.

There was a long moment of silence as Soobin thought, eyes fixed on their home. 

“No one goes out alone after this." He said. "And Kai and Taehyun don’t leave the boxcar if we can help it. Things are just… too unstable with them right now.”

Soobin took a deep breath and started coughing. It was rasping and harsh, the leader wheezing for breath between each cough. It took a long minute before he managed to stop, doubled over his knees. 

“Allergies.” he muttered, straightening and swiping a hand across his mouth. 

“Didn’t know allergies caused fevers too.” Yeonjun said evenly, and was rewarded by a flash of surprise in Soobin’s eyes. 

“Look, it’s fine.” The leader said. “I’m just fighting something. I’ll swipe some medicine tomorrow.”

“That's a risk we can't-"

“The others are going to get worried.” Soobin cut in, avoiding the eldest's eyes.

The teen was already walking back towards the boxcar, knowing Yeonjun wouldn’t pursue the topic with the younger boys in hearing range.

Yeonjun fought back the urge to shake some sense into him, forcing himself to relax before he melted something again. For someone who watched out for the younger boys, protecting them with everything he had, Soobin’s self-preservation instincts were _terrible_ , a fact which was continually frustrating to the rest of them.

As such, it didn’t really come as a surprise to Yeonjun when he woke the next morning to the sound of the door sliding open and feet dropping into the gravel of the train yard. He was about to drift back to sleep, assuming one of them had to pee or something, when he heard the faint sounds of retching.

Blinking his exhaustion away, he sat up, looking over the lump of blankets to his right. Those were Kai’s mismatched socks poking out, and Beomgyu’s snore, and Taehyun’s shock of brown hair at the top, which left…

Yeonjun sighed. He grabbed a water bottle and slid on his shoes. The train yard was still bathed in shadows, the dusky grey-purple sky lightening in a way that signaled the sun would be rising soon.

Soobin had only made it a few paces around to the side of the boxcar, crouched there in the dirt, looking absolutely miserable. Despite the chilly morning air, the boy’s forehead was beading with sweat.

Yeonjun stepped carefully around the puddle of sick to crouch next to him, offering the water.

“Soobin… Soobinnie.”

He let in a sharp breath when the boy finally looked up at him, eyes glassy. Yeonjun pressed a hand up against the leader’s neck. He was hot, much too hot.

“Let’s get you back inside.” he murmured, heart twisting when Soobin tipped to lean his head against Yeonjun's leg, eyes fluttering shut. “Do you think you’ll throw up again?”

There was a pause and Soobin shook his head. _Yeonjun had never seen him so out of it._ He hoisted the teen to his feet, eliciting a groan from him. Soobin's head lolled against his shoulder. Was he… _asleep?_

He ended up having to wake Kai up to help him drag their mostly limp leader up into the boxcar. Together they lowered him to their makeshift sleeping mat, and Kai stepped back, biting his lip.

“What’s wrong with him?” 

_I wish I knew._

Yeonjun crouched to tuck the blankets tighter around Soobin, and leaned back on his heels. He snagged an old plastic grocery bag and set it next to the boy just in case he felt sick again. 

“Soobin’s caught something. It’s probably just a bug.”

Kai shifted on his feet, looking anxiously at Soobin’s pale face.

Yeonjun squeezed his shoulder, fixing the most reassuring expression on his face as he could. “I’m sure he’ll be alright in a few days, don’t worry. He just needs to rest.”

Yeonjun was wrong. 

* * *

“NCT.”

“Strays.” 

“We have business to conduct here.”

Chan's jaw dropped and he looked around the lobby of city hall like he'd never seen it before. “What a coincidence, so do we!”

Yuta fought the urge to roll his eyes, taking in signs and banners they were holding, the flyers clutched in Jeongin's hands. In the back of the group, Chan’s second in command, Changbin, was on his phone, completely uninterested at the showdown happening in front of him.

“We’ve got some propositions for a new bill-” Chan announced, hefting up his sign. 

Yuta raised his eyebrows, eying them disbelievingly. “Like they’re going to listen to you all? Please, they won’t let you get further than the lobby. Do you mind doing this another day?”

Minho shrugged. “Unfortunately, we can’t reschedule.” 

“I can’t imagine this little demonstration will be any more effective than your last… ten. What happened then? Oh, I remember now! They threw you out.” 

Hyunjin’s hands tightened around the stack of petitions and pens he was holding. “This bill would benefit _your_ group, you know. Put more protections in place for powered people.” 

_Ah, that’s right. He’d forgotten how idealistic their little group was._

“Sorry, we don’t waste our time on hopeless causes.” Yuta checked his watch. “Besides, why don’t you let powered people fight their own battles?”

Chan’s face twisted sharply. Felix had to put out a quick hand to stop Jisung from pushing forward. 

“That’s what I thought.” Yuta said, flashing a sharp smile. “Now if you’ll excuse us. We have business to do.”

Changbin put his phone away, and gave Chan a nod that had Yuta narrowing his eyes.

The Strays leader stepped back, his posture relaxing. “Well, we were just finishing up here anyway. Good luck with your _business._ Tell Taeyong I say hello.”

And with that, the Strays left. One of them actually had the audacity to _wave._

Yuta tilted his head, watching them go. They looked far too happy for someone who had just lost an argument.

"Yangyang?" he said, lowly.

The teen tapped his fingers on his jeans, shutting his eyes briefly. "Mostly amusement. A little bit of smugness. Surface level anger, probably at something we said, nothing serious. Impatience."

"They have something up their sleeve." Yuta muttered, still watching them where they were now lingering on the sidewalk outside the building. 

Next to him, Winwin cleared his throat. “The meeting is in three minutes.”

Yuta nodded. "Let me know if anything changes." He told Yangyang, putting his thoughts of the Strays aside as they headed for the large circular staircase.

This meeting was important, could cement some of their connections in the political community (always a helpful card to have up their sleeve). Taeyong had waited for a long time, loathe to get involved in the tangled system of political espionage, but as shaky as things were getting now, they needed to have some inside connections on their side. 

They barely made it three steps before the fire alarms began to blare, lights blinking on and off. The sprinklers activated with a hiss, raining water down, and almost immediately people began streaming out of the rooms, briefcases and papers held over their head in an attempt to shield from the downpour. Within minutes, the lobby was a crowd of soaked politicians eager to get out of the building. 

They all spilled right out into the sidewalk… straight into the hands of the Strays, who were already handing out flyers, talking to the politicians who had nowhere to go.

_Ah. Of course._

“Forget it.” Yuta ground out, forcing down his irritation. “We’re not going to be able to meet today.”

It took them longer than it should have to make their way out the doors and into the sidewalk, the restless crowd bottlenecked as too many people tried to exit out of the same small doorway. But finally they were out on the street, being jostled by the mass of government employees, many spitting angry words into their phones about the alarms.

Almost immediately, Felix materialized next to them. “Can I interest you in a flyer?” he said innocently.

He shoved one into all of their hands before they could protest. 

Through the crowd, Yuta caught Chan’s eyes. The Strays' leader gave a sort of helpless, innocent shrug, looking with wide eyes at the evacuated building.

Yuta didn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes this time, hand clenching around the flyer. 

He had no idea how the ridiculous counter-violence, weaponless, and powerless group had managed to survive this long, but it probably had to do with their less than legal but exemplary computer skills. If their continued survival despite all the odds gave Yuta a sort of grudging respect for them, no one needed to know. It didn't mean he _liked_ the group.

“Should we-” Lucas started, but Yuta shook his head. Taeyong wouldn’t take it kindly to them starting something with the Strays without his permission.

Besides, this little inconvenience didn’t matter in the long run. The meeting could be rescheduled easily enough, and Yuta knew enough about Chan to know this wasn’t an attack on NCT. The Strays were here for their own objectives. 

Normally Yuta wouldn't care what they were planning, but if it kept affecting their affairs... _No, it didn't matter._ Taeyong had already classified the activist group as a non-threat to NCT a long time ago. And if they did turn their sights on NCT, well... Yuta wasn’t worried. His group had the highest number of powered members in a single group in the city. They could crush them in a moment.

He watched as the youngest, Jeongin, whooped as he got a signature, sharing a double high five with Jisung, their faces spread into beaming smiles. 

_But it probably wouldn’t come to that, anyway..._

“Let’s go.” he said abruptly, turning away. His members fell in step behind him. 

And if Chan took his next step and tripped over air, tumbling into a politician and getting scolded, his members all tacitly pretended they didn’t notice Yuta's smirk.

* * * 

“You’re gonna do fine, don’t worry.” Beomgyu repeated, like he was trying to convince himself. He wasn’t even looking at the younger boy, eyes flickering around the square again and again. 

Taehyun bit his lip, gaze fixed on the convenience store doors across the street from them. 

“No, no. This is a bad idea.” Beomgyu said suddenly, shaking his head. “You haven’t had any practice. Never mind, I'll just-”

_No, no no, they'd already been over why that wouldn't work-_

Taehyun forced himself to take a deep breath, square his shoulders. Shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pockets so no one could see them shaking.

_He could do this._

“Beomgyu.” He said, tugging on the older teen's arm until he looked at Taehyun. “It’ll be fine. We need the food. I won’t get caught.”

“You won’t?” Beomgyu searched his eyes, trying to read the message hidden there.

“I won’t.” Taehyun promised.

Beomgyu's shoulders slumped in relief, and he finally nodded and stepped back. The teen took a seat on the curb a few yards away, tucking earbuds into his ears, the picture of just another teen on his phone. No one needed to know that the earbuds were broken and didn’t connect to anything, or that he wasn't focused on music but the traffic around them, keeping an eye out for cops. 

Taehyun fought to keep the assured look on his face as he crossed the street, tying not to show that he really had no idea at all. He hadn't gotten a _warning_ per se, but that didn't mean something wouldn't happen anyway. Out of everybody, he knew the unpredictable nature of his powers best. He was hoping no warning meant clear skies ahead this time, because all other logic seemed to scream that this was a _terrible_ idea _\- why had Taehyun volunteered for this- he didn't even know what he was doing- everyone would probably see right through him - oh god he couldn't do this, he really couldn't- he should run while he still could-_

Taehyun glanced back, caught sight of his hyung sitting on the curb, curled into his sweatshirt, nodding his head along to a nonexistent beat. This was the only convenience store in the east with the cold medicine they needed. Beomgyu had shoplifted here a few days ago; they couldn't risk someone recognizing him and getting suspicious. Yeonjun and Soobin were in no shape to leave the boxcar. And there was no way Taehyun was letting the job go to _Kai._

They _needed_ that medicine.

Taehyun took in a shaky breath, and stepped inside. 

It was supposed to be easy. Walk into one of their most common spots- a convenience store that had some major camera blinds spots- stuff some things in his jacket, and walk back out.

Yes, the way Beomgyu had framed it, it _should_ have been easy. But Taehyun had turned the corner of one of the aisles too quickly, eager to get the items his hyung had suggested and get out, already feeling like some silent alarm was going off and the police would barge in any second, and ended up bumping into a man standing there perusing the chip options. 

“I’m so sorry!” he stammered, stumbling back a few steps. 

“It’s okay. Are you all right?” the man said, a bit gruff, but Taehyun’s eyes were fixed on the blue and black uniform, the patch on his chest.

 _A police officer._ Taehyun’s panic overrode his ability to speak, so he ended up just staring at the man, wide eyed. The officer’s eyes narrowed at the silence and he looked him over, taking in the boy’s scuffed shoes, his fraying sleeves.

A package of instant ramen chose that moment to fall out of his jacket, clattering to the linoleum floor between them.

_Oh shit-_

The only thing that flashed through his mind was _run,_ and he spun around- just in time for a hand to drop into his shoulder, halting his desperate escape before it could begin.

"Jihoo, how many times have I told you to just get a basket?” a voice said, exasperated. “You can’t carry everything.” 

A man in a closely tailored and clearly _expensive_ suit was standing there, a fond look on his face.

_Was he…. talking to Taehyun?_

“I swear I don’t remember being this stubborn as a teenager.” The man said, giving the officer a commiserating sort of look and rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. 

He held out his basket. “Dump it all in here. We both know I’m paying anyway.”

His hand squeezed Taehyun's shoulder lightly, bringing him out of his shock. Having no idea what else to do, the teen opened his jacket and pulled out the two additional packets of ramen, one box of crackers, and three packaged rolls that he’d managed to stuff in there.

“Aish, so many carbs. I’ll never understand the teenage appetite. Is that everything? Did you get Mom’s mineral water?”

At Taehyun’s blank look, the man sighed. “Well, go grab it now.” 

_What the hell was going on?_

Taehyun let his feet carry him over to the drinks section. He grabbed the first mineral water he came across and made his way back to the two. The stranger was chatting amicably with the officer when he returned.

“-how high the crime rates have been, I’m not sure I’ll be able to sell the property. People are buying across the river these days instead. It’s a pity, I put a lot into the renovations-”

The man held out a hand for the water and checked the brand before putting it in the basket.

“-and I’d hate to have to sell it at a lower price, but I’m not sure I want to have to deal with everything that comes with it. Just keeping it vandalism free seems to be an impossible job.”

He herded Taehyun towards the cash register, handing him a smartphone. “Text Mom and tell her we’re going to be a few minutes late to dinner.”

Taehyun took it with shaky hands, eyes drifting to the officer, his heart pounding in his chest. _Was he really supposed to…?_ He clicked around until he found the contacts, and then the one labelled _Mom_ , and typed out the message and sent it as the man finished paying, still idly chatting with the officer. 

A message came back almost immediately. 

_\- Jinyoung, what the hell? You know I’m not in the city right now.-_

Taehyun stared down at the screen, internally panicking. 

When he didn’t reply another text chimed in, 

_\- Are you drunk right now?? You’re supposed to be working on the Anders situation. Don’t be afraid to break a kneecap or two if you have too, he’s an asshole.-_

_Oh. Oh shit._

Oblivious, the man- _Jinyoung?-_ held out his hand for the phone, and Taehyun handed it back to him. He slid it in his pocket without even glancing at it and gave Taehyun half the bags. Together, they walked towards the exit.

Taehyun could barely breathe as they strode out the door, convinced that the police officer would come running after them, drag Taehyun away to jail. But no one stopped them. The officer was too busy paying for his own items to glance at them again. The clerk didn't even seem to register Taehyun's presence. Nothing happened at all. 

But now Taehyun had more pressing concerns. Like what this stranger, who was _probably in a gang if the kneecaps comment was anything to go by,_ wanted with him. He stumbled to a halt on the pavement, determined to _get out of here_ , but a sharp tug on his elbow got him moving again.

“Not yet.” The man hummed, not glancing away from the road ahead. “There’s still cameras.”

Taehyun peeked at him out of the corner of his eye, tense, trying to decide if he was lying or not. 

“Any particular reason for robbing the H-Mart, kid?” The man asked casually, as they crossed down the block and into another street. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stammered, heart starting to pound again. 

_Where was Beomgyu?? He said he’d be waiting- what if- what if something had happened to him, or someone had recognized him and he'd been taken in - maybe this man was here for Taehyun too- he couldn't be with Child Protective Services, could he? The suit was far too expensive for that-_

It wasn’t until they made it to a deserted side street that Taehyun, panicking, wrenched his arm away. The man's light grip disappeared and Taehyun stumbled back until he was out of reach.

The stranger came to a stop on the sidewalk, holding up one hand, still relaxed. “A few tips, kid, cause there’s not gonna be someone to bail you out next time. It’s all about attitude. You gotta act like you own the place. No one will question you if you look confident enough. But if you’re scared and suspicious, people are gonna notice.”

Taehyun gaped at him. Was this guy... giving him advice on _shoplifting?_

“Go for less bulky items, like protein bars, and try to find packaging that doesn’t crinkle. And always buy something small too. It’s obvious if you just walk in, wander around, and walk out.”

Taehyun finally managed to nod, and the man looked satisfied. There was a dull buzzing noise as his phone went off in his pocket, insistent. The stranger sighed and dug it out.

His brow furrowed as he looked over the messages. “Wait, did you actually... text someone?”

Taehyun froze. “I... thought you were serious. Um, sorry?” 

The man just huffed a laugh, scrolling through the char. Then his eyes narrowed as he saw what was likely the original messages and he turned a calculating look to Taehyun.

_Oh shit, what if that had been like… top secret information? Never mind the fact that Taehyun had no idea who Anders even was, oh no-_

Taehyun's breath caught as the harmless business man seemed to melt away, replaced with something dangerous and grim.

“Who are you with, kid?” he asked, voice sharp.

“What- I’m not with anyone!" Taehyun sputtered, his eyes wide. "I mean- Tomorrow X Together- or TXT I guess- but we’re just kids not a _gang-”_

The man’s expression eased somewhat. He pinned Taehyun with a piercing look.

“I’m sure you know the value of discretion.”

Taehyun nodded so frantically that he got dizzy. The man studied him for a moment longer and seemed to accept it, stepping back. 

“Your mom sounds like a tough lady.” Taehyun blurted out, because apparently the adrenaline rush of the past few minutes had completely eradicated his filter. 

The man rolled his eyes, shoulders relaxing. “It’s not actually-” he huffed.

“Taehyun!” Beomgyu’s frantic voice shouted, and there he was, jogging down the street towards them, panicked. 

_Oh thank god._

"That's my cue." The man tossed the other bag to Taehyun. “Have fun robbing convenience stores.” he said, with a sharp grin, and walked away. 

“Have fun breaking kneecaps!” Taehyun called after him, before his brain could stop him, and _oh geez he was gonna die_ , but the man just laughed as he disappeared around the corner. 

“What happened?" Beomgyu demanded, breathing hard as he came to a halt next to Taehyun. "Who the hell was that?”

Taehyun gave a helpless shrug, looking down at the bags filled with items he hadn’t intended to get. “I... I don't know."

* * * 

"We're back."

The door slammed shut and Seungmin and Hyunjin trooped into the entryway, tossing their shoes into the haphazard pile at the door. 

Chan fought urge to sigh at the sight. _This was why they were late to everything, honestly. Everyone had to root through the pile for matching shoes before they could leave (and they weren't always successful). He couldn't count all the times Jeongin had ended up going out with two mismatched shoes._

"How did it go?” He called, though he could already guess the answer given their expressions. 

Seungmin sighed, flopping into the worn couch next to him. "Sorry, we lost them again." 

"We had to wait for a full hour in that gross record store on tenth for the rain to let up." Hyunjin groaned. He tossed his satchel into the kitchen counter and dropped to lie face down on the carpet in the middle of the living room.

Chan would have been worried, if this wasn't a daily occurrence. He tossed him a pillow just in case he wanted it, _cause that couldn't be comfortable for his neck,_ but the teen just let it bounce off him, unmoving.

"I lost track of them on the cameras too.” Changbin slammed his laptop shut and gave a frustrated huff, letting his head tip back against the couch. “I don't understand how they're so good at losing us."

Chan tapped at his knee, pensive. "Unless they live somewhere where cameras are scarce."

"Like... the east?" Seungmin said hesitantly.

"I hope not." Changbin muttered. "Dumb kids are gonna get themselves killed."

Seungmin looked so worried that Chan forced himself to smile, ruffling the younger teen's hair. "Don’t worry, they're strong kids." 

_And likely powered,_ he didn't mention. It was just a suspicion, after all. A _very_ strong one. 

"How many signatures did we get today?" he asked, not so subtlety changing the subject.

At the table surrounded by the petitions from that day, Jeongin and Felix shuffled through the papers, whispered for a moment.

The maknae winced, circling a number on his sheet and looking up again. "Um... four? But at least five others said they would consider it."

Minho whistled, not even opening his eyes. "Damn. Four is not good." 

He was stretched out nearly the length of the second couch, much to Jisung's annoyance, who was also trying to occupy said couch, and had ended up squished in the corner. Jisung batted Minho's feet away from his phone for the third in as many minutes, glaring. 

"But it's better than last time, hyung!" Felix offered.

That was true, at least. Maybe it had helped that they hadn't snuck into the government building to pester the politicians in their own offices this time.

 _How many "spontaneous" fire alarms could they get away with?_ Chan wondered. Probably not more than two. Three if they wanted to risk it. Certainly not any time soon, though.

“We’ll go back down on Wednesday when everyone gets off, see if we can catch people leaving the building.” Chan said, “All we need is twenty-five percent of the city council to sign to have it taken to the next phase."

“And then we have to get thousands of citizen signatures before we can even move to phase three: to get it presented to the provincial legislature." Changbin said bitterly. "After which- provided it's actually approved considering all the red tape there- we have to find a representative to make it into an _actual_ bill and present it before the senate committee. Where it can be rejected easily like all the others before it even getting close to being _passed._ "

Seungmin slumped even further into the couch and Jeongin stared at the petition forms, despondent. 

“Hey, we’re not giving up." Chan insisted, voice firm. "This kind of talk isn’t helping anyone. We already got a thousand citizen signatures that we needed before we could go to the city council, remember? We once thought _that_ was impossible. We’ll handle the rest when we get there.”

Hyunjin said something muffled into the carpet that not even Chan could decipher. 

"That's right, Hyunjin." Felix said, brightly. "We're not giving up."

Hyunjin dragged his head off the ground just long enough to give Felix an unimpressed look that clearly communicated that was _not_ what he had said, before he flopped down again.

"We're giving up," Minho spoke up, pushing himself upright, and Chan gaped at him, betrayed, until he went on, "But just for tonight. The petitions will still be there tomorrow."

Chan nodded, motioning at Jeongin and Felix to come join them. "Minho's right. Enough work talk, we all need a break."

The maknae's face lit up and he bounced into the living room. "Movie night?"

He squished into the couch with Chan, Seungmin, and Changbin, despite it being _far_ too small for four people. Minho and Jisung managed to drag Hyunjin up off the floor to sit with them, and Felix curled into the armchair, pulling a throw blanket over himself. Jeongin dragged another throw over the four on the couch, ignoring the way Seungmin complained he was too hot. 

Chan fiddled with the edge of the blanket, which was a deep maroon, velvety and soft, and very very _unfamiliar_. He narrowed his eyes, holding the corner up his face. The blanket was oversized and warm and fuzzy and frankly far too luxurious for their budget. In fact, Chan didn't think he'd ever _seen_ it before today. He fought off a fond sigh, exasperated. Things had a strange habit of turning upin their apartment, groceries and toiletries, along with the kind of stuff they wanted but couldn't afford, like a fancy coffee machine (that Chan was pretty sure cost more than their monthly rent), and that gaming console that Felix had been pretending he wasn't eyeing longingly every time they walked back the electronics store on 4th. 

"What are we gonna watch?"

Changbin cleared his throat. "I heard they released a new horror film-"

"No!" Chan and Felix shouted simultaneously. 

He was _not_ dealing with yet another night of eight teens trying to squish into one room, insisting that they sleep with all the lights on, jumping at every creak of their old apartment building, and whispering long into the night.

Changbin made a face. "Come on, I heard it's not even that scary-"

"That's what you said the last four times." 

In an act of mercy, none of them mentioned that _Changbin_ was usually the one who ended up not sleeping the whole night after, dragging someone with him if he had to walk down the dark hall alone to the bathroom.

"What about that superhero movie?" Jeongin offered, far too casually. "The one Hyunjin kept ranting about."

"Oh, Batman vs. Superman?" Felix asked, perking up.

 _Jeongin just HAD to bring that one up._ He could see the maknae's smirk from here. _Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing._

Sure enough, Hyunjin scoffed, leaning forward. "I can't believe they even made that film, that kind of a plot is that? Batman doesn't even have _powers._ It's not even _close_ to being a balanced fight."

Jisung's jaw dropped and he shoved himself upwards on the cushions, affronted.

 _Not this again,_ Chan sighed, mentally resigning himself for a long night. 

"Batman would beat Superman in a fight any day." Jisung exclaimed, "He doesn't _need_ powers to kick Clark Kent's farmer ass-"

"Language." Minho muttered halfheartedly.

Hyunjin stabbed a finger in the direction of the TV. "Are you kidding? Superman has _heat vision,_ and super-strength, and can _fly!_ Bruce Wayne is just a _human,_ it wouldn't even _be_ a fight."

"He's a _genius billionaire_ , he could invent anything he needs to beat Superman while Kent sits in his office typing up _tabloids_ about himself-"

"Guys, please-" Chan tried to interrupt, but he was bulldozed over by Hyunjin's loud protests. 

Jeongin was actually cackling as the two shouted back and forth, and even Felix looked fascinated, watching the debate with wide eyes.

"Don't hate just because Superman is an good guy- a superhero not a _vigilante law breaker._ "

"At least Batman's fatal flaw isn't a literal _rock!"_

 _"It's his inability to process emotions in a healthy way."_ Jeongin whispered to Chan.

"At least Superman can speak without sounding like he gargled _gravel_ -"

Minho groaned, reaching behind him to grab two of the couch cushions. He chucked them at Hyunjin and Jisung and nailed them both in the face, effectively shutting them up. 

"Someone just play the movie!" 

Jisung sputtered, but Changbin had already pulled up the film, and the movie's intro was beginning and Seungmin was shushing them all. 

As the dramatic music began, Felix popped out of the armchair, running for the kitchen. "It's not a movie night without popcorn!"

"Don't burn it this time, Lix!" Chan called, more than a little concerned, but Jeongin was flopping into his shoulder, and Chan could finally feel his constantly racing thoughts beginning to slow, and surely Felix wouldn't burn popcorn for the third time in one week, right?

"I won't hyung, I _swear._ "

_Someone remind him not to believe Felix's promises, next time. At least when it came to popcorn._

*** * ***

Beomgyu lifted off the washcloth, and felt Soobin’s forehead again. _Still too hot._ The leader's feverish skin keeping heating the cloth too quickly, making it near useless for cooling him down. He handed it to Kai anyway to wring out and replace with fresh water, and moved on to Yeonjun.

The eldest, unlike Soobin, was colder than Beomgyu had ever witnessed him. Usually he was a veritable furnace- even without his powers he seemed to run warm- but the past few days his limbs were ice cold no matter how many blankets they heaped around him. It wasn’t unusual for illness to affect powered people in unexpected ways, causing unpredictable flare ups and dampened phases for their powers, and making them much harder to control. _Beomgyu had plenty of experience with that._

 _Maybe he should just put one of Yeonjun’s hands on Soobin’s forehead; that might do the trick._ Then again, they didn’t want a repeat of a few nights ago, when Yeonjun had given a particularly violent cough and the plastic figure of a purple and blue horse that Kai had picked out of a donations box and now sat on their shelf had _melted._

“The cold medicine from the corner store hasn’t done anything.” he admitted, sitting back on his heels. 

“We don’t even know what they have.” Taehyun whispered.

He was sitting on the other side of the boxcar, watching, his arms wrapped tight around his legs, chin resting on his knees. 

Beomgyu shrugged. “The flu, probably. Maybe a bad strain of it.”

He sighed and pushed to his feet, joining the others at the cardboard box table. “Come on, let’s eat.”

It hadn't taken the eldest long to catch whatever Soobin had, as he'd been the one trying to nurse their leader back to health. But as the days passed, Soobin didn't seem to be getting any better, didn't show any sign of fighting off the illness. And now the two were _both_ sick, spending most of their waking hours in a feverish sort of haze. And now everything was resting on _Beomgyu,_ the younger two looking to him to get them all through this and _how was he supposed to get them all through this when he didn't know the way?_

They’d gotten lucky, running into whatever good samaritan had helped Taehyun that day. Otherwise, they would have run out of food several days ago. 

Beomgyu hated this whole thing, hated that Soobin and Yeonjun were sick and suffering, hated that somewhere inside he was angry at them for it, for the responsibility that was on his shoulders now. _The responsibility he was failing._ He hated having to leave Kai and Taehyun _\- two fourteen year olds-_ alone in the boxcar all day struggling to look after their ill hyungs, and he hated trying so hard and yet coming back at dark with meager steals that were never enough and seeing Kai and Taehyun fighting to positive when they all knew _nothing was getting better._

Kai startled, almost dropping his granola bar, when Yeonjun groaned and sat up. The eldest rubbed at his eyes, stilling in confusion when he caught sight of Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai huddled around the small lantern, eating.

“What's going on?”

Beomgyu was at his side in a moment.

“You’re sick hyung.” He said, pressing Yeonjun's shoulder back down gently. “Go back to sleep.”

“ _Soobin’s_ sick.”

“And so are you.” Beomgyu said patiently, “Sleep will help you feel better.”

Yeonjun blinked at them for several long moments, brow furrowed. “It’s late... You all should go to bed as well.”

“We will.”

“You need sleep, too.” The eldest insisted, blinking hard.

Beomgyu sighed and nodded his head, looking at the others. “Okay, okay, we’re going to sleep now too. Why don't you lie down again?"

The elder finally complied, mumbling words Beomgyu couldn't puzzle out as the three of them hurriedly finished their meager food and joined the others beneath the blankets.

It was sometime in the middle of the night that Beomgyu woke up to cold hands on his arm, and a familiar body pressed up against his own. 

“What is it?” he muttered, still half asleep. 

“It’s so cold.” Kai whispered. 

It took him a moment to realize the youngest was shivering. It _was_ cold, he realized, now that he was awake enough to think about it, much colder than usual in the boxcar. His nose felt almost numb.

“'Ur cold?” A voice mumbled and Yeonjun’s head poked out of the blankets.

“Don’t worry about it, go back to sleep, Yeonjunnie.” Kai whispered quickly. 

“Wait, jus' give me a second.” There was some incoherent mumbling as the eldest fought his way out of the blankets and came to stand in the center of the boxcar.

“Hyung, what are you doing?” Beomgyu hissed. He threw the blankets off, balking as the frigid air hit him. Ah, damn, it really was _freezing._

Yeonjun held out his hands, muttering to himself.

“Wait, I don’t think you should-” Kai began, clambering to his feet with wide eyes.

An explosion of flames billowed up from his hands, licking against the ceiling. The two cowered away from the sudden heat, Beomgyu yelling at Yeonjun to stop. 

The flames cut off. 

Beomgyu fought to catch his breath in the darkness and calm his racing heart. His face felt like it had been sunburned, and it took a long moment for him to blink the spots out of his eyes. Taehyun was awake now, sitting up, his panicked gaze darting between all of them. 

_This was exactly why Yeonjun was so careful with his powers; they could get out of control oh so easily._

Yeonjun was staring at his hands, eyes wide. “I’m sorry- I didn’t- I didn't mean to-”

“It’s okay hyung, you’re sick, we’re all fine, don’t worry.” Beomgyu soothed quickly. 

Yeonjun still looked stricken. He took a single step forward and slumped. Kai darted forward just in time, snagging his arm before his head could slam into the side of the boxcar.

“Are you okay?” The youngest asked worriedly, hefting him upwards. The eldest was muttering to himself again, eyes flickering around.

Beomgyu pressed a hand against his forehead. He was still cold. 

“Let’s get you back in bed.” He murmured.

While Kai was tucking the blankets around Yeonjun, Beomgyu checked up on Soobin, who'd somehow managed to sleep through the whole debacle. The boy was eerily still, face mushed into the pillows. Despite the heat he radiated, he was shivering. He hadn’t woken up today. 

Beomgyu rocked back on his heels. 

_Shit._

They were going to run out of food soon. He didn’t want to make Taehyun try again after the disaster that was last time, and Kai’s powers were too unpredictable for him to be out and about right now. But Beomgyu wasn’t stealing enough on his own to support them all, and no one wanted him, a skinny teen that was clearly homeless, working odd jobs for them. They...they needed a big sum of money, enough to get the two eldest the medicine they needed, and more blankets to make sure they didn’t all freeze this winter, and real food for a while.

Beomgyu looked at Kai and Taehyun, who were both watching him, unconcealed worry shining in their eyes. 

He’d had done more than pickpocket and shoplift, back when he was on the streets alone. Neither were a viable long term option when your freedom depended on avoiding security cameras at all costs.

.... It wasn’t hard to scope out an empty house and jimmy a lock.

Soobin would veto the idea immediately if he was coherent enough to speak right now, claim it was too much of a risk. But he wasn't the one watching his hyungs suffer from a mystery illness while the younger kids tried to pretend they weren't getting more scared and hungry with every day that passed by.

Soobin... Soobin would never have to know. 

  
* * *   
  
  


* * * 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super excited to finally share this!! It's been in the works for sooo long.
> 
> All the groups tagged will be major players in this story, though it takes time for some of them to be introduced!! I didn't want to flood the tags so I didn't tag every single characters that will featured. My true multi-fandom heart coming out here lol


	2. Chapter 2

“Taehyun?” 

The boy's brow was furrowed, eyes closed tight. After a moment, he just shook his head. “I can’t tell, I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright. It’ll be fine.” Beomgyu whispered, trying not to show his own nerves.

He pushed a leaf that was tickling his cheek out of the way, and peered out over the short lawn. A car rumbled past and he held his breath, turning his face away so the light wouldn’t reflect off it. 

They were further into the north side of town than either of them felt comfortable. Their worn shoes with holes in the toes and wrinkled clothing stood out vibrantly in the well-to-do area, and the two of them had gotten more and more strange looks the further they got from the city center. Beomgyu was strangely grateful that Kai hadn't been around to endure the sneering, pitiful faces.

But the important thing was that the houses here were wealthier and emptier. Taehyun and Beomgyu had done some hasty reconnaissance, watched a couple get into a car and drive off, looking like they were going somewhere fancy, probably to dinner or a party. They left a dark and silent house behind. Beomgyu didn’t have nearly enough information to attempt a clean robbery under normal circumstances, but they couldn’t hesitate any longer.

He didn’t know a lot about medicine but he knew that Soobin and Yeonjun were getting worse. They could barely stomach even the simplest foods Beomgyu managed to steal, and were up most of the night coughing. 

There was a rustling in the buses behind them. Someone cleared their throat.

Beomgyu barely managed not to jump out of his skin, spinning around so quickly he scratched his arm on a branch.

Their maknae was crouched a few feet away, expression sheepish. "Hey, hyung."

“What you doing here?” Beomgyu hissed, clamping a hand over his pounding heart. 

The boy chewed on his lip, shuffling further into the buses. “I’m here to help.”

“To help?” the elder sputtered. “Like _hell_ \- Kai no- you need to go back to boxcar-”

He moved forward to tug the boy out of the bushes, but Kai dug his feet in. The boy straightened, expression defiant. “I’m not going back. I can help.”

“ _Huening Kai_ , you can’t- Who going to look after Soobin and Yeonjun? They’re there all alone!”

“Like I could make any difference.” Kai said, voice rising. “I just sit there while they _cough_ and get sicker and sicker and all I can do is stay in the boxcar and _watch.”_

Beomgyu stilled, taken aback, his hand slipping off Kai's arm. Taehyun stared with wide eyes. 

“Taehyun’s only a few months older than me. I can help, I _can_.” the boy insisted, and _oh,_ his eyes were wet. 

_Beomgyu didn’t know how to explain that it wasn’t about age, but that Taehyun’s power was so much easier to hide, so much less of a risk of being found out._

But the boy looked so heartbroken, so frustrated with feeling useless, and _wasn't that how Beomgyu had been feeling all this time?_ _Like nothing he did was having any impact? Like they were helpless to watch while Soobin and Yeonjun just got sicker no matter what they tried?_

He found himself hissing out a long breath, and then nodding. _Please, don't let him regret this later._

“Okay.” Kai lit up and Beomgyu held up a hand. “But you do exactly what I tell you. And absolutely no powers no matter what happens.” 

He turned back to the house, then hesitated, bit his lip. “Also, Soobin never hears about this.”

The two quickly agreed, though Beomgyu knew their silence wouldn't last long if Soobin really pushed. He couldn't bring himself to care anymore, as long as Soobin was _alive_.

Taehyun helped Kai slip on the extra halloween mask they’d brought, squeezed his shoulders, and then it was time. 

It took them longer than Beomgyu wanted for them to free themselves from the hedge and go jogging across the short lawn. Taehyun's thin jacket had snagged on one of the bushes and he'd been forced to tear it free.

Beomgyu wrapped the rock he'd carried all the way from the east end in his scarf and broke the window on the back door as quietly as he could, reaching a hand inside to twist the door open. They all held their breath, but no alarm went off. In a moment they were inside, door shut behind them.

Kai froze in the middle of the living room, staring wide-eyed at the expensive furnishings.

“K, check the bathrooms, see if they have any medications." Beomgyu instructed, his eyes sweeping over the layout of the house. He spared a moment to wonder if Soobin had lived somewhere like this before he'd run away. "Grab any jewelry or fancy watches you see.”

The youngest nodded eagerly and disappeared. 

“T, come with me. Hopefully we can find the study. Usually there’s some extra cash around.” 

Taehyun kept close on his heels, like he expected something to jump out of the shadows. “Not locked up?” he asked. 

As they made their way down the hall, Beomgyu pointed at the gold clock on the wall, the marble beneath their feet. “Pocket cash isn't something people who live like this have to worry about locking up."

The first and second door he tried were bedrooms, the third a hall bathroom, but behind the fourth was what he was searching for. A study, with a wide oak desk, rich leather chairs, and covering most of one wall, a bookshelf filled with more artfully selected knick-knacks than books. Beomgyu hurried over the deep red carpeting to close the blinds, hiding them from the curious eyes of the neighbors. He flicked on one of the desk lamps. 

“It'll probably be somewhere kinda out of the way, but easily accessible.”

They rifled through the desk drawers, the filing cabinet, the bookcase. Beomgyu came across a fancy pen that he slipped into his pocket, hoping to pawn it later.

“Found it!” Taehyun called, a bit of excitement slipping into his voice. He waved Beomgyu over to the side table next to the door, where there were five twenties nestled inside an old book on finance.

Beomgyu grinned at the sight. _So predictable._

“Great job, Tae- _T_.”

Kai slipped into the room, pockets bulging. “I found a big watch and some necklaces, but they only had ibuprofen and bandaids.” he whispered, looking regretful. 

“That’s okay.” Beomgyu assured him. “We’ve got the cash and we can pawn the rest-”

Taehyun suddenly straightened, eyes unfocused.

"Hyung,” he interrupted, grabbing Beomgyu’s arm tightly. “We need to go.”

“What?”

The mix of confusion of panic on the shorter boy's face finally sank in and _oh no_ , Beomgyu realized, _that could only mean one thing._

Taehyun began tugging him in the direction of the door. “We have to go _right now.”_

The window shattered.

Beomgyu stumbled back, dragging Taehyun with him, thumping painfully into the large oak desk. Kai let out a yelp, covering his face as the wood splinters and glass sharps scattered over the room.

The window frame was… _smoking?_ The glass had _melted_ alongside the edges, and Beomgyu forgot to move for a moment, gaping at it.

“ _Hyung_.” Taehyun whispered frantically, pulling on his arm. 

There was a whoosh and a figure swooped out of the darkness, hurtling into the small room. Huge black wings snapped out behind them and they slowed, dropping down in the center of the room in a crouch.

A second person stepped through the window, landing with a crunch on the shattered glass, and strode forward. He stopped a few meters from the three and gave a lazy grin, his black mask glinting dully in the dim light. With a flick of his wrist, a ball of fire materialized in his hand.

And _shit,_ sudden recognition flooded Beomgyu. He’d heard of the two before, usually in whispered stories told by those huddled around the can fires. But he’d perhaps foolishly assumed they’d never cross paths. _He’d been wrong, oh so wrong._

_V and Suga._

_Two of the Bangtan Boys._

_Shit, shit, shit,_ there literally could not be a worse turn of events, _unless of course, EXO had shown up instead._ Normal cops they could get away from. They had a leg up on them if they really had to use it.

But Bangtan? They had _abilities._ Powerful ones too. They weren’t cops, they were _vigilantes._ And they did whatever it took to make sure the city was safe. Beomgyu had heard the rumors about people who tried to cross them, criminals who were caught by them and spent the next few months in the hospital before they even _got_ to prison.

His heart was beginning to thump anxiously in his chest, Kai and Taehyun frozen on either side of him. 

Oh god, _Kai and Taehyun._

“You guys amateurs?” Suga said, tossing a ball of fire up and catching it in his palm. “Haven’t you heard the north’s protected by _vigilantes_ now?”

V chuckled coldly, giving a beat of his huge black wings. It sent a powerful burst of air through the room, papers flying off the desk, and Beomgyu was left blinking his hair out of his eyes. 

“You know," V tapped his chin. "I don’t think they’ve heard yet. Why don’t we show them what happens to thieves in our city?”

Suga stepped forward, flaming spreading to both his hands and flaring upwards.

Beomgyu leaned away from the heat, the desk digging into his spine and Kai, the only one with room to move, stumbled backwards, almost falling through the doorway into the hall. Beomgyu wanted to yell at him to run, but he didn't think the boy would get very far with two vigilantes on his tail.

V called casually from behind him, “That is, unless you’d like to surrender and come peacefully along to the police station.”

 _The police station._ Kai and Taehyun turned panicked eyes to Beomgyu. They couldn’t go to the police station. _They couldn’t._ They’d get put back in the system, and no one would be there to take care of Yeonjun and Soobin.

“Is there a third option?” Beomgyu finally managed to stammer. “Where we go free?”

V made a face, wings dipping upwards as he shrugged. “Ah, well you see, you’re breaking and entering. And that’s against the law. So we can’t just let you go.”

“It would definitely lighten your sentence if you come quietly though.” he offered. 

_Sentence? Oh. Oh no._

Kai let a strangled little gasp and out of the corner of his eye, Beomgyu could see that Taehyun’s hands were shaking now. _Of course… jail… they were committing a serious crime._ It was one of their greatest fears, a horrific fate for powered people. _The stories they’d heard..._

_He wouldn’t let Kai and Taehyun end up there because of him. He couldn’t. He’d never forgive himself._

But if he did this… then they'd _know._

“Ah, I take it surrendering sounds good to you then?” Suga’s flames dimmed slightly, V nodding approvingly at them. “Good call.”

Beomgyu took a deep breath, looked once more at the terrified Taehyun and Kai.

“I’m sorry." he said, voice shaking. "We can’t.” 

Suga narrowed his eyes at them, taking a step forward. “This isn’t a _debate-_ ”

But Beomgyu was already extending a hand, eyes shut tight. There was dull whine and the front half of the room slowly began to lift off the ground.

V let out a shout as his feet left the carpeting and he flapped his wings, which sent him into a spin, ramming into Suga.

“Go!” Beomgyu shouted at Kai and Taehyun. “ _GO!”_

The teens scrambled for the door as the two vigilantes yelled at each other, trying to get untangled. Beomgyu backed up slowly, his hand still outstretched, watching them careen uncontrolled about the room with the tiniest hint of guilt.

“What is this?” V shouted.

They bounced off one wall and the momentum sent them into the ceiling, where V managed to snag the light fixture, hanging into it desperately. 

“Call Kookie.” Suga shouted from where he was clutching V's foot.

_They had to get out of here._

Beomgyu backed quickly into the hall, nearly tripping where the carpet transitioned to marble, and focused on keeping them afloat even though his head was starting to spin. He was about to turn and run, when a voice spoke from behind him.

“You’ve got some talent, kid. Sure this is what you want to do with it?”

He whirled around, powers cutting out and dropping the two vigilantes. They hit the ground with a thud, tangling up with each other. 

“Get your damn wing out of my face!” Suga was yelling, voice muffled. 

“Get your _face_ out of my _wing!”_ V shot back, trying and failing to scramble to his feet.

There was a tall man with silver hair and a long tan coat standing in the middle of the hall, his hands in his pockets, face carefully blank. Slightly behind him, a second man was watching Beomgyu with wide eyes, shifting back and forth on black combat boots almost nervously.

And past both of them, was the door. 

_RM and… someone else?_

Beomgyu's mind was whirling, shuffling through half formed plans, eyes darting for another exit. _There was none._

Two vigilantes behind him, two in front. _He... he wasn’t getting out of here, was he? But Kai and Taehyun seemed to have made it away. That was all that mattered,_ he tried to tell himself, staring at the two newcomers. _Even if he ended up in a superpower prison, at long as they’d gotten away, he’d be okay. Wouldn’t he?_

RM’s brow furrowed. 

V and Suga were still yelling in the room behind him, and Beomgyu was debating trying the same trick on these two, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember if the brown-haired man standing with RM was Jimin or JK. Water he maybe could handle, but teleportation?

Let alone the mystery card of a leader, RM. Beomgyu didn’t know what his power was, _no one_ knew. Just that it was something big. It had to be if he was leading the vigilantes. 

_Shit, he didn’t have a chance._

RM took a step closer and Beomgyu stumbled backwards.

“If we catch you doing this again,” RM said, intense eyes fixed on the teen. “We won’t be so lenient.”

And then he _stepped out of the way,_ pulling the other man with him. 

Beomgyu took a shaky step forward and the brown-haired man tensed, leaning forward. RM held out a hand, stopping his teammate.

“Go.” he said simply. 

Heart hammering in his chest, Beomgyu took a step, and then another, until he was walking by them, so close he could have reached out and touched. The man held his gaze the whole time, until Beomgyu was past him and around the corner and breaking into a run. 

Kai and Taehyun were hovering by the bushes next to the house, almost frantic, unsure if they should flee or wait. 

“Go, go, go!” Beomgyu hissed, grabbing their sleeves and taking off down the street. 

* * * 

“RM, what was _that?”_ Yoongi called from the study’s doorway. Taehyung was behind him, grumbling as he tried to groom his feathers back into place. “You just let them go?”

Namjoon scrubbed a hand over his face. “I wasn’t even trying and I could feel his fear. It was overwhelming. Less for himself than for the others. They’re young, Suga. They’re young and they didn’t want to do this.”

“Everyone starts somewhere.” Yoongi said bitterly, turning back to the study. “That one was _telekinetic._ We’ll probably be fighting him in a few years, once EXO gets a hold of him.”

Namjoon’s eyes were fixed on the doorway the thief had left through. He hadn’t gotten much from the boy, the fear swamping everything else, and he hadn’t wanted to push. He couldn’t be much older than Jimin had been, back then when they’d found each other, terrified about the powers they held and what the future would hold.

"Not telekinetic." he said absentmindedly. "Some form of mass manipulation, I think." 

_There was something about them though…_ He could still feel them dimly at the edge of his reach, running for what their life was worth, their fear and shock like a faint beacon-

Their phones dinged. 

“Bank’s being held up on 10th street,” Jungkook read off the screen with a grimace.

"Ugh, again?" Yoongi groaned. He had sprawled over one of the leather chairs, feet propped up on an overturned side-table. “Don’t criminals have anything better to do?”

“Who’s going?” Taehyung asked, giving one last shake of his wings and settling them against his back. He raised an eyebrow at the silence that followed. “RM?” 

Namjoon blinked himself back to reality, forcing himself to recenter around the minds of his family and let the robbers slip fully off his radar. The night was still fairly young and despite Yoongi’s complaints, none of them were fatigued enough to need a break. 

“We’ll rendezvous with Hoseok, he’s closer, and then split into two teams.”

They gathered around, Taehyung looping his arm through Jungkook’s, Hoseok holding into Tae, and RM placing a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. They waited while their maknae concentrated, brow furrowing. Then Jungkook gave a sharp nod and Namjoon braced himself. 

A moment later, the study was empty.

* * * 

Beomgyu quickly helped Kai and Taehyun into the freight car, eyes darting around the dark rail yard. He didn’t take a full breath until he finally slid the door shut and pulled the heavy lock into place. 

It was pitch black in the boxcar, only the heavy sounds of breathing audible.

“Light?” he whispered. He’d lost his own flashlight in the chaos.

“Oh.”

Kai’s flashlight clicked on.

 _First things first._ Beomgyu snagged the camping lantern off their haphazard scrap wood shelf and moved to the sleeping mats.

Yeonjun and Soobin didn’t look like they had moved since they left, except for that the covers had been thrown off. Beomgyu held back a curse, grabbing the blankets and tucking them back around their bodies. It was _freezing_ in here without Yeonjun warming the car.

“Hyung.” he said softly, shaking Soobin lightly.

The boy, pale and listless, groaned, eyes opening in little slits. “What is it?" he muttered, "Did something happen?”

“Do you think you can eat something?”

Soobin seemed to think about it for a long moment, and then nodded, pushing himself up a few inches with trembling arms. “How’s Yeonjunnie?”

“He woke up for a bit this morning. We talked.” Beomgyu told him, carefully not mentioning that everything the teen had said had been gibberish. “Just worry about yourself, hyung.”

Without him saying anything, Taehyun had already gotten out their least meager food supplies, bringing them over. Their masks, which they'd taken off halfway home, were stored out of sight in his backpack, along with the jewelry Kai somehow held into during their frantic flight. The cash was miles away on the study floor. 

He dipped the bread in water so it wouldn’t be too hard to chew and held it to Soobin’s lips. He managed to coax nearly two slices into him until the boy’s eyes began to slip closed again. Soon, their leader was asleep.

Beomgyu moved over to Yeonjun, shaking the teen lightly. “Hyung. Hyung, you need to wake up.”

The eldest scrunched up his face for a moment, but did not awaken. 

Beomgyu rocked back on his heels, trying to stay calm. 

He turned to find Kai and Taehyun standing a few feet away, watching the proceedings with anxious eyes. 

“They’ll be fine.” he said, trying for a reassuring smile. He had a feeling it didn’t work. “We didn't get caught and we’ve got the jewelry now. We'll be able to pawn it and buy some medicine. Everything will be fine."

* * * 

Johnny could feel eyes on him. It wasn't uncommon for other groups to have him followed when he was out of the west, keeping an eye on the threat getting close to their territory. But this was the first time it had happened in the produce section of the grocery store. Especially since he was walking around poking all the avocados to find the best so Kun wouldn’t get mad at him for bringing home overripe avocados again. 

The feeling didn't go away, prickling against his neck and down his arms, so he waited a few moments and selected an avocado at random, putting it in his basket. He turned around to look at the apples, despite not needing any, and swept his gaze across the store as he did so. 

“You should be more careful.”

Johnny went still. 

A tall shopper was examining oranges a few feet to his left, a black baseball hat pulled low over his face. Johnny caught a flash of his sharp cheekbones, expensive shoes, and moved his hand to rest closer to where his gun lay concealed in his coat.

“What the hell do you want, Kai?” he said evenly.

The man flipped the orange over in his hand, frowned at a scratch he found, and traded it for another.

“You left the kid alone in the freezer section.” the EXO member murmured, “Something could happen.”

A spark of alarm shot through him and Johnny took a few steps to the left so he could see down the aisle to where Jaemin was stacking way too many boxes of popsicles in his basket, grinning.

Hiding the relief that flooded him, he spun back to Kai. "Are you trying to threaten me?”

Kai placed the orange in his basket, moved on to the pears. “No. But you need to be more careful.” 

Johnny had to force his fingers to uncurl from around the apple before he put dents in it. 

“I don’t know why the hell you think you have the right to come and lecture me-” he hissed. 

“No, I’m telling you that _you need to be careful._ ” 

And Johnny finally took in Kai’s tense frame, tapping foot, the genuine frustration in his voice. The way his eyes flickered up to the security camera in the corner. 

_Oh._

Johnny carefully turned back to the fruit, shifted a little closer under the pretense of reaching for some oranges as well. “Why?” he muttered.

Kai hesitated, hand hovering above a pear. “It’s dangerous for powered kids on the streets. Will be especially dangerous in the coming days.”

“Yes, I heard EXO was on the hunt.” He shot the man a glare, but fought his anger back down. “EXO and NCT have an agreement though. We don’t come after your operations and members and you don’t come after ours.”

“Things have changed.” Kai said darkly, his eyes fixed blindly on the fruit. 

“What are you trying to say?” Johnny scoffed. “That you're going to come after NCT members? That would be war.”

“I’m trying to say that you should tell Taeyong he should raise security and not let people venture out alone.”

His words sunk in and Johnny rounded on him, throwing the casual ruse out the window. “You _are_ going to come after NCT. You _assholes_.” he snapped. “Don’t you have enough members and power without ruining the lives of more people?”

Kai abruptly turned to face him and for the first time Johnny could see the dark circles around his eyes, the tired creases, the irises filled with fear. He took a startled step back, faltering. 

“You have no _idea_ what’s really going on here-” the man hissed, but visibly cut himself off, taking a slow breath and looking away. When he brought his gaze back it was the gravest Johnny had ever seen him, which was saying something, because Johnny had once seen him almost bleed out from a bullet wound.

“Don’t let us catch any of your members, Johnny. Do whatever you have to do but keep them _away._ Keep them safe. Move to a new damn city if you can.”

And Johnny couldn’t help the goosebumps that crawled up his shoulders seeing his old friend so unnaturally _afraid._

“ _Jongin._ ” he whispered. “What the hell is going on?”

Kai's eyes flicked again to the security camera and he stepped back, placing the orange in his basket. 

“Warn Taeyong.” he repeated, catching Johnny’s eyes one last time. “This isn’t a joke. Please.”

He looked so pleading that Johnny found himself giving a sharp nod. “I will, okay? I will.” 

The whispered _thank you_ was so quiet he wasn't sure if he’d imagined it. The man turned abruptly to go and Johnny snagged his arm, ignoring the way the man went tense.

“If it’s that bad,” he said quietly. “You should get out.”

"It's too late." Kai told him tightly and pulled his arm out of his grip. “Goodbye, Johnny. Watch after your members.”

Johnny was left standing alone in the produce section, unsettled, watching the man disappear around the corner.

"Ready to go, hyung?" Jaemin hollered from halfway across the store. 

Johnny fought not to wince as a middle-aged employee shot him a disapproving look over her glasses. He shot her a strained, apologetic smile, and moved in the the direction of the checkout, backtracking at the last second to distractedly drop a few more avocados into his basket.

"Hyung?" Jaemin yelled, impossibly _louder_ than before. "We're gonna be late!"

The woman's disapproving look turned to a full out glare and he picked up his pace, speed-walking so quickly he almost knocked over a display of sports drinks at the head of one aisle.

"I'm coming!" he called hastily, seeing the boy open his mouth again.

Jaemin was already waiting at self-checkout, and Johnny ignored the way he pointedly checked his watch. _They had a full hour before they were expected home with the groceries, what was the rush?_

He took a quick glance at the kid's basket and did a double take, gaping. _Well, there was his answer._ "We don't need fifteen boxes of popsicles."

The teen pouted, glancing down at the frozen treats longingly. "Hyung, do you have any idea how quickly they get eaten when there's _twenty-one_ of us?"

Johnny fixed him with an unimpressed look. "Put some back. I don't want to have to explain to Kun how we spent half the week's budget on _popsicles_."

"Fine." the boy announced, turning his nose up and gathering up a handful of boxes. "But y _ou_ get to deal with Chenle's heartbroken face when we run out of popsicles before he gets any."

Johnny grimaced, snagged Jaemin's sleeve before he could get far. "Okay, okay." He sighed. "But you're scanning all of these."

Jaemin's face broke into a sunny grin. "Oh, of course, hyung!" He pushed past Johnny and began scanning the groceries with reckless abandon, shoving everything haphazardly into the bags. The elder watched in horror, barely managing to stop him before he crammed a carton of eggs in the bag sideways. 

"No, no," he huffed. "Just let me."

The teen shrugged and stepped back, ambling away to poke at the bubblegum machines by the door.

Johnny scanned the rest of the items, relieved that the groceries were safe, and was suddenly hit with the recognition that he'd been tricked.

Jaemin shot him a wide grin when Johnny finally joined him, popping a piece of bubblegum into his mouth. "Nice of you to do that, hyung."

Johnny just rolled his eyes in fond exasperation and handed him half the bags before he could find some way to get out of it. _Where had Mark found these kids?_ _This was the last time Johnny volunteered for the grocery store run._

"Hurry up, these are gonna melt!" the teen called back, nearly bowling over an old man on his way out the door.

Johnny gave the man a hasty apology, and followed Jaemin outside, sobering as he watched the kid skip ahead. He fought the urge to call him back, instead pulling out his phone to shoot off a quick text to Yuta and Taeyong about meeting tonight. 

There was a reason there weren't many groups as large as NCT in the city.

Twenty-one was an awful lot of people to protect. 

* * * 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohooo BTS has finally joined the party!! And our first glimpse of EXO! :0 
> 
> This chapter is a bit shorter than usual as my draft was getting _really _long so I decided to cut it in half so I could go ahead and update! Hope you enjoy! <3__


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stray Kids hijacked this chapter. 
> 
> TW: vague mentions of child mistreatment/neglect

Chan bit back a curse as his phone went off for the third time in five minutes. He gave up on ignoring it and tugged it out of his pocket. He didn't bother to look at the caller ID, just tapped the green button, and pressed it to his ear.

“Hello? This isn't really a good time-” 

“Hey, Chan.”

His exasperation immediately vanished at the sound of Bambam's voice.

“Hyung!" he crowed. "What’s up?”

“I can call back if you're busy right now; don't let me distract you.”

Chan glanced up at Jisung, who was staring down at him over the edge of the building, looking incredibly unimpressed. He tugged on the rope, making Chan sway a little in his harness, clearly motioning _'what the hell are you doing?'_ Chan grabbed into the window stay, feeling dizzy as he caught another glimpse of the sidewalk far beneath. He sent a glare back.

“Oh, it's nothing!” he said and made a point of ignoring Jisung’s huff. “What did you want to talk about?”

Chan trapped the phone between his head and his shoulder, so he could have his hands free to continue trying to work the window closed. _Wasn’t his fault the damn thing was rusted. This building was supposed to be new._

Finally with a screech, it slammed shut the rest of the way, and the other side of the line went silent. Chan winced, hoping maybe the man hadn't noticed. _No such luck._

“What was _that?"_

“Oh you know, just petition stuff.” the leader said quickly. “I can talk!”

There was a long, suspicious pause, but Bambam seemed to accept it. “I just wanted to catch up." the man said. "It's been awhile since I’ve seen you guys. How’s the petitions coming?”

Chan sent Jisung a thumbs up for the others to start pulling him up.

“Ah, could be better.” he said. “We need city councillor signatures now, which is turning out to be a lot more difficult than we thought. Probably because the council is entirely non-powered.”

“I wonder why.” Bambam said dryly.

“It’s almost as if the discrimination they claim doesn’t exist is actually real!” Chan let the sarcasm bleed through.

Bambam huffed. “Well, you guys are working hard. Good for you to have a quiet night in.”

“Yeah... a quiet night.” Chan sent a guilty look down at the sidewalk almost a hundred feet below. 

He was finally at the top, and clasped Hyunjin and Jisung’s hands so they could haul him up over the ledge back into the rooftop. Just before he was back safely on solid ground, Jisung’s feet caught on the pile of rope at his feet and the Hyunjin yelped as the three went tumbling forward and landed in a heap on the hard rooftop. Chan wheezed, the breath knocked out of him by the elbow he'd taken to the stomach.

Footsteps came to stop next to his head, strides far too long to be Minho's.

“Just petition stuff, huh?”

It took Chan a long moment to register that Bambam’s voice hadn’t come through the phone this time. His eyes flew open, blinking up at the figure standing over him.

“Oh, hey hyung.” he said casually.

Jisung and Hyunjin nearly fell over again trying to scramble to their feet, and Chan sputtered as he got kneed in the chest.

Minho tipped his head in greeting from where he was sitting in the middle of the rooftop, as far away from the edge as possible. “Hi Bambam.”

The GOT7 member returned the gesture, giving a sharp wave. "Hello, Minho." He turned back to Chan, raised his eyebrows. "What a _quiet_ and _relaxing_ night you have here."

Chan winced. "I'm very relaxed?" he offered.

Bambam rolled his eyes and extended a hand, pulling Chan to his feet.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to take risks like this anymore.” he said, watching as Chan untangled himself from the ropes.

A thread of guilt stirred in his chest at his hyung's words and he fought to push it back down. _It was a necessary risk._

“I couldn’t sit by and watch, Bambam." he said, stepping free of the pile of ropes. He motioned at the building beneath them. "They’re sweeping cases of runaway powered kids under the rugs. One home has had nearly six kids run away this year alone _that we know of._ None of which were reported to CPS. We tracked down four of the kids, and all of them admitted that the staff was mistreating the kids whose powers they deemed as _dangerous._ ”

Bambam gave a low curse, anger sparking in his eyes.

“This isn’t an isolated occurrence.” Chan continued, “By our numbers, nearly 64% of homeless kids in the city are powered. I can’t tell you how many kids I’ve talked to that ran away from a bad situation and have nowhere else to go.”

Bambam ran a hand through his hair, and risked a glance at the other Strays. They got the message, moving away to pack up the equipment as if those few feet would keep them from hearing. Chan knew them well enough to know they were listening to every word. 

The GOT7 member meet the leader's eyes and grimaced. “I don’t want to be that person, Chan…"

"Then don't be." Chan muttered, already knowing where this was going. 

And Bambam just raised his voice a bit, continued on. "I don't want to be that person. But you can’t save-"

_"Don't say it."_

"-them all." Bambam said, barreling right over him. "The system, it's not that easy to change.”

Chan _glared,_ hands clenched into fists. “Would you rather I sit aside and ignore it?” 

“If it keeps you from being thrown in jail for pulling stupid shit like this and leaving the Strays with no one to watch out for them, yes.” his hyung shot back, not missing a beat. 

The two stared at each other for a long moment, Chan glowering and Bambam gazing stubbornly back. 

“You of _all_ people know why we do this,” Minho said, standing up, shattering the illusion that the others weren't listening. “And why we’re not giving up. So if you just want to be another person telling us what we can’t do, we don’t want to hear it.”

"And contrary to what you seem to think, we're not _idiots_." Jisung snapped, fiery eyes catching Bambam's. "If the system was easy to change, then it would have changed already. Doesn't mean we're going to _stop_."

Chan couldn't help the wave of pride at the conviction in members' voices. He slipped past Bambam and went to help Hyunjin gather up the rest of the climbing equipment, plopping down on the concrete to shove it all into their backpacks.

Bambam sighed. He came to stand next to them. 

“I know.” he said quietly. “I’m sorry. I just get worried. You guys don’t even carry weapons.”

Hyunjin tugged hard on the rope he was coiling up, muttered bitterly. “We don’t need weapons. We’re just kids with stupid naive dream, after all.”

Bambam winced, looking away. "Guys."

When the three just ignored him, he crouched next to them, wrinkling his fancy suit without hesitation. "That’s not what I meant, really. It’s just… you all take too many risks.” He hesitated, looking over the four of them. “The city would be a much worse place if something happened to you all.”

He picked up one of the carabiners that they'd missed and held it out.

Chan saw the honesty in his eyes and let the very last of his anger slip away. The man meant well, he really did, even if it didn't always manifest in the best ways. _Like that one time Bambam had been with them when that creepy hot dog stand vendor had tried to hit on Felix again, and they'd practically had to drag Bambam away before he broke the man's arm (they weren't fast enough to stop him from breaking his nose), and the gang member had excused himself early from their board game night, which he_ never _did, and after that they never saw the vendor again._

“If anything happened to me,” Chan shrugged and reached out, taking the clip from him. “I know you guys would look after the Strays.”

Bambam didn’t deny it, but he did _tsk_ , disapproving. “You put far too much trust in people, Chan.”

Chan looked back at him, squarely. “No, I just know who I can trust.”

The gang member seemed to flounder at that, so Chan let the tension slip away, cracking a smile. 

“Besides, _you’re_ the one that showed up every week with food for the first few months until we got ourselves together.”

Bambam help up his hands as he stood again, shaking his head. "I deny everything." 

"You can deny it,” Jisung sang, “but those four cartons of ice cream that appeared in our fridge last week speak for themselves." 

Chan gaped at the elder. "That was _you?_ " He'd thought someone _(i.e. Minho)_ had just lost all self control on the last grocery store run.

Bambam shrugged, doing a poor job of hiding his smirk. "Not my fault you guys need better security." 

Minho leveled a finger at the gang member. "You're paying for the dental when you rot all the kids teeth." 

Bambam just grinned outright, unbothered by the declaration. There was a glint in his eye, one that Chan could recognize from when the man was planning something. Oh no... _Chan wouldn't put it past him to actually do it._ He was hit with a vivid picture of him and Minho trying to herd six lively teens into a dentist's office.

“Hello, gentlemen.” 

Hyunjin yelped and they all spun around, Bambam's hand dipping toward his waist where Chan knew his gun was holstered. 

_Oh, great._

“If it isn’t the Bangtan Boys.” Bambam drawled, relaxing a fraction. 

Jimin gave a little wave from where he was perched on one of the large ventilation units. It had his white-blonde hair fluttering in what Chan thought was an unnecessarily dramatic fashion, _though he had to admit it looked cool, very superhero-y._

The vigilante shot Bambam a pointed look, and the gang member held up his hands to show he wasn't armed. _As if he couldn't be in a split second._

J-Hope was balanced on the rooftop ledge, wearing, as expecting, attire that did not fit into the typical vigilante _blend-into-the-shadows_ aesthetic. Tonight it was a pair of pants with a pink and orange floral design that would probably stop traffic. _Maybe it was supposed to distract the criminals while someone else snuck up on them,_ Chan thought.

He scanned the rooftops for more members of their team, but it was just the two of them as far as he could tell. Glancing to his right, he sent a (hopefully) reassuring look to his members. 

Minho looked back at him flatly, his expression practically a neon sign screaming _I told you we should have gotten out of here earlier, Chan._ The leader winced, trying to look appropriately apologetic. Jisung, as usual, was poised ready for a fight, which Chan _really_ hoped he didn’t try given these were _two very powerful vigilantes_. Hyunjin, at least, was the appropriate amount of slightly afraid but mostly exasperated. 

“Strange place to be hanging out.” J-Hope commented, hopping down off the rooftop ledge. 

Jimin slid off the ventilation unit and strolled around the perimeter of the rooftop until he was blocking the maintenance door. _Their exit._

Bambam stepped forward and slung an arm around Chan’s shoulders. “Ah, you can’t begrudge two old friends from meeting on a rooftop?”

“Two old friends… one of which just happens to be a member of one of the city’s most notorious gangs and the other a world renowned hacker. Meeting on a rooftop at two a.m. with a lot of suspicious equipment.”

Chan coughed a laugh, eyes wide. “ _Hacker?_ I think you might be mistaken. I just like coding.”

Jimin didn’t have to say a word to communicate how unimpressed he was with that story. Chan fought to maintain his innocent expression. _Geez, how was he so expressive through a mask?_

“Bambam’s just letting us borrow his climbing equipment.” Hyunjin piped up. “I’ve decided to take up the sport. Working out to stay healthy, you know?”

J-Hope hummed, tapping at his chin. “And it has nothing to do with reports of someone rappelling down the side of the building and breaking into the place?”

_Ah, shit._

“ _This_ building?” Jisung said, jaw dropping. “Can’t believe we missed that. Must have been right under our noses. Believe me, you would have been the _first_ people we called.”

“And the camera?” Jimin nodded his head at the device hanging around Jisung’s neck. 

Hyunjin looked hopefully to Chan. Drawing a complete blank, Chan looked to Minho, and Minho looked at Jisung, and Jisung looked to Bambam, and Bambam made a _why the hell are you looking at me_ face and jerked his head back at Chan.

“Well, the thing is-” Chan said slowly.

“I’ve been practicing night photography.” Jisung blurted out. 

Jimin raised his eyebrows. “So you wouldn’t mind if we looked at the pictures then?”

The teen clutched at the camera, hand curling tightly around the strap. “Art is a very private process.” he said defensively.

“By that he means he’s not very good.” Minho called. 

J-Hope strolled a little closer, and _oh shit_ was he _glowing?_ “Or maybe there’s photographs of confidential paperwork on there from the office you just broke into.”

He held out a hand, and Chan had to blink spots out of his eyes as light poured out of the vigilante's hand, brightening the whole rooftop. “If you don’t mind.” 

“Come back with a warrant?” Jisung said hesitantly, and yelped when Hyunjin elbowed him in the ribs. 

Chan quickly stepped forward before the conversation could spiral any further out of control. He opened his mouth and then grimaced, holding up a hand to block the light. 

"Could you um... turn that down?" he asked, squinting as he tried to look in the vigilante's direction. J-Hope rolled his eyes but indulged him and the light faded to something bearable. 

“It's okay.” Chan told Jisung, ignoring the way the teen gaped at him. “Give it to him.”

The vigilante took the camera, practically having to pry it from Jisung’s unwilling fingers, and began flicking through the pictures with the ease of someone who had used this type of camera before.

“But... I think I should tell you what you’re looking at.” Chan said grimly.

J-Hope squinted at the screen, bringing it closer to his face. “Is this… abstract?”

He turned the screen around to show a _very_ blurry photo of the scattered city lights.

Jisung flushed. “I’m still figuring out manual focusing, okay?”

"You've had this camera _four months_." Hyunjin muttered. 

"It's not my fault there's so many buttons!"

Jimin looked amused, watching the banter between them, but the lightheartedness fell away the moment J-Hope got to the documents. Chan watched him straighten, narrow his eyes, bring a unreadable gaze up to meet Chan's.

“What is this… it looks like..."

“Reports on runaway kids that were locked away in a cabinet instead of being properly filed to the state department?” Minho filled in, arms crossed over his chest. 

Jimin’s nonchalance melted away and he quickly crossed the rooftop to J-Hope’s side, peering at the small screen himself.

“Why...”

“Probably to hide the casual mistreatment of powered kids in the city’s children homes.” 

Jimin took in a sharp breath at Chan's words. J-Hope’s face was stony as he continued to click through. 

“There’s so many…” Jimin murmured over his shoulder.

J-Hope finally tore his face away from the screen, eyes fiery. “What happened to the kids?” 

Chan couldn’t hold back his grimace. “The large majority ended up back in the system within a few months, but most of the others have found better situations on the streets.”

“Better situations on the streets.” the vigilante said bitterly. “Should be an oxymoron but it's not.”

“What are you going to do with this information?” Jimin spoke up. The concrete beneath them could probably pick up on the suspicion in his voice. 

“Give it to the proper authorities that we hope aren’t being paid off." Minho said. "And if that fails, we’ll spread the word through powered rights organizations online, raise the word about what’s been going on.”

“Like the city gives a shit about what those organizations say.” J-Hope muttered.

“Hey, you’re welcome to join them down at the courthouse on Saturdays trying to bring attention to it.” Bambam snapped, speaking up for the first time in this whole conversation.

The vigilantes seemed a bit taken aback at the unexpectedly sharp words, but Chan just rolled his eyes. _Bambam really tried to pretend he didn’t care, but it bothered him just as much as the rest of them._

J-Hope looked to Jimin and the two seemed to hold a silent conversation. Then he stepped forward and handed the camera back to Jisung. 

“Who knows… maybe I will.” he shrugged.

Jimin tilted his head, likely listening to something in his comms. “We’ve got to go.” he told his teammate. 

J-Hope walked to the center of the rooftop, shook out his hands. “Try not to commit any more breaking and entering tonight.” he said dryly.

And then he was running, shooting past Chan and Bambam and all the way to the edge of the rooftop where at the last moment, he kicked up and away. They all gaped as he cleared the gap between the buildings easily, landing in a roll and popping upright. He gave one last jaunty wave, and disappeared into the shadows.

When they turned back around, Jimin was gone. 

There was a long moment of silence and then- 

“I can’t believe he said my photos were _abstract._ ”

Hyunjin plopped down to sit cross-legged on the concrete. “Jisung, we just took those as a cover for the documents. Just in case someone glanced at the memory card.”

Jisung clasped a hand over his heart. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t _hurt._ ”

Minho rolled his eyes and hefted one of the backpacks over his shoulders. “Let’s get out of here before the police really show up.”

“ _Abstract,_ hyung!”

Certain now that the vigilantes were really gone, Chan let his shoulders slump, breathing out a sigh of relief. _They'd gotten lucky. That could have ended much differently._

The others bickered back and forth about Jisung’s artistic skills (and weaknesses) as they gathered up the last of the equipment, Bambam hovering nearby.

“You’ll be good to get home right?” he asked, sending what he would deny was a worried look at the city. There were sirens dull in the distance, but there were almost _always_ sirens somewhere. At least it didn't seem to be in the direction of home this time.

“We’ll be fine hyung.” Chan assured him.

Bambam hummed, unconvinced, and checked his watch. “Well, I don’t have anything to do. Might as well tag along.” he said casually.

Chan bit back a grin. _Sure, let him believe he was being subtle about being a mother-hen._

“Well then, you’re helping us carry this stuff.”

Bambam made a face but didn’t complain when Minho handed him a backpack (even when it 'coincidentally' turned out to be the heaviest one). 

Jisung sidled up to the leader as they started the long trek down twelve flights of stairs. “Channie-hyung, you like my photos right? You’d frame one? On the wall of the apartment.”

“And make us look at them everyday?” Hyunjin called incredulously from the back of the pack. Jisung shot him a glare.

Chan bit his lip, focusing on the stairs for a moment to buy time. _They really were terrible._ But now Jisung was doing his puppy eyes, and _honestly how was anyone supposed to say no to that face?_

“Of course, Jisungie. We’ll put it on the wall in the kitchen.” Chan promised.

 _“Pushover.”_ Minho muttered.

Jisung managed to kick the elder in the knee as he pushed past. 

Minho gaped, _"Yah, you!"_ and swatted at him, but the teen ducked easily out of the way.

"I'm going to file a formal complaint for damages against our eyes!" Hyunjin informed them.

But Jisung was beaming now, practically _skipping_ down the stairs, which would have been concerning except it was _Jisung_ , and he somehow managed to pull it off without looking like he was two seconds from breaking his neck. Not that Chan was going to let him keep going- _seriously, do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Jisung, no, don’t you dare skip away from me!!_

Bambam just watched the chaos, looking exasperatingly fond. 

"Really though, your security needs work." the man said later, when they finally made it to the ground floor, huffing a bit. Jisung was already sitting on the bottom step, typing away at his phone as he waited. "I got in easily. The window was a breeze to pick and the fancy alarm you were bragging about didn't even go off."

"Our security's not the issue." Minho huffed, fixing him with a look. "It didn't go off because you're keyed into the system."

"Oh." The man was wide-eyed, like he hadn't even considered the possibility that they would trust him enough for something like that.

"Oh." Chan shot back cheekily.

He didn't feel the need to mention that while Bambam’s ice cream escapade _hadn't_ set off their intruder alarm, it _had_ set off the standard access alert, which was programmed to notify Chan about anyone, even members, entering and exiting between 2-6am. And Chan had... slept right through it.

Because if he'd told Bambam that then Chan would have to admit he’d gone three full days without sleeping and passed out on the couch, resulting in him being dead to the world for nearly sixteen hours. The last time he admitted to his hyung that he was having trouble sleeping he was finding boxes of sleepy-time tea hidden in his room for _weeks_ afterwards.

Yeah, Bambam didn't need to know.

* * *

He should have guessed this would happen, what with how he’d been caring for Yeonjun and Soobin these past couple days. 

He’d woken up this morning with a sore throat and a fuzzy head but he hadn’t been willing to accept it. He couldn’t get sick now, he _couldn’t._ Not without Soobin and Yeonjun already struggling. 

_"I could get you thirty bucks, at best, for all of it." the pawn shop owner had told him. When Beomgyu had gaped at him, dismayed, the man just sighed and pointed out the cloudy shine, the discoloration of the metal, the dull sound when one tapped on the stones. "They're fakes, kid. No one other than a queen could afford this many diamonds."_

He’d passed out scaling the second fence coming home and woken up a bit later, bruised but all right, thankful that the rail yard was so deserted. It look longer than it should have, but he managed to stumble the rest of the way home. Kai and Taehyun had to help him up into the freight car, his legs too weak to do it by himself. 

“Beomgyunnie?” Soobin muttered, when Beomgyu was laid down next to him.

“Hi hyung.” Beomgyu whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “Three down.”

When he’d gathered enough strength, he pushed himself upwards and found Kai and Taehyun whispering frantically to each other.

“I don’t want you two coming near us.” he said, voice croaky. “You can’t catch this too.”

Taehyun looked dismayed. “But hyung- _”_

“I mean it.” he said firmly. “I can still handle taking care of them, just give me a bit.”

He let himself flop back down. He’d close his eyes and rest. Just for a bit. 

* * * 

Taeyong was silent for a long minute, hand tapping on the dark wood of his desk. 

Behind him, balanced on a bookshelf, the silly cuckoo clock that Yangyang had bought for the leader was ticking back and forth. The sound was uneven, milliseconds of difference every time, and the time was wrong by nearly an hour again, just like it was always was, even after Jaehyun’s best attempts to fix it.

Despite it's very obvious flaws, they all knew Taeyong would never throw it out, just because it was a gift from one of his members. That and the fact that the irregular ticking had the wonderful ability of putting people off balance. 

“You think he was being sincere?” the leader said finally, raising his eyes to look at his second in command. 

Johnny gave a grim nod from where he stood by the window. 

Taeyong's office used to belong to whoever had managed the facility decades ago, and the viewing window looked out over the wide expanse of concrete that used to be the warehouse floor. It was now a multipurpose area of sorts for NCT, with storage around the edges, workbenches for the projects of different members, and a wide open space in the center that was often bustling with activity.

Today, a floor below, Dongyoung, Jaemin and Jisung were playing some convoluted game of tag on skateboards that involved them taking off their shoes mid-ride and flinging them at each other at high speeds. They were sweaty and laughing, and _so unaware of the danger rising up in their city._

“I’ve never seen Kai that shaken.” Johnny admitted, forcing his gaze back to Taeyong. “Whatever is going on, it’s something big.”

Yuta shifted, the old chair squeaking beneath him.

“They’re just trying to get us out of the way.” he said with a shrug. “We’ve been a threat to their power for awhile now.”

Johnny grimaced, shaking his head. “That’s what I thought at first too, but it just doesn’t fit. I saw the _fear_ in his eyes. EXO is planning something, something bad, an attack maybe. Whatever it is, it's bad enough that Kai would risk his members' wrath to warn us.”

“And yet he’s still going to go along with it.” Yuta said bitterly. 

Johnny forced himself to stay silent, _because what would he say?_ He wasn’t like he agreed with the plethora of horrible choices Kai had made and been dragged along with over the past few years. But at the same time… they all knew it wasn’t that simple. 

Nothing like this was ever simple. 

“We could always see if GOT7’s heard anything-” he said hesitantly. 

“No.” Taeyong spat out, and _Johnny really shouldn't have expected anything different._ “We don’t need their help.”

“Well, what about one of the newer groups, like ATEEZ?” he offered, “It doesn’t hurt to have allies-”

“Until they betray you.” Taeyong said sharply, shaking his head. “We’re safest the way we are. Just NCT. We can handle it ourselves.”

Johnny fought down his exasperation, sharing a look with Yuta as Taeyong stood and slung his jacket over his shoulder, signaling that the conversation was over. 

“We’ll heighten security." the leader said. "But we’re not going anywhere. The moment we step back, other groups will flood in to snatch up our resources and contacts. We’ve fought too hard for what we have to give it up on the warning of one-" he glanced at Johnny, visibly reigned himself in, "-admittedly unreliable person who probably has their own interests in all of this.” 

He moved for the door, but Johnny held out a hand, blocking his way.

“And what if EXO _is_ planning something big?” 

EXO wasn’t the monolith of power it was for no reason, after all. NCT was powerful too, and could put up quite the resistance, yes, but if EXO truly wanted NCT members and came after them full force, it would be a bloody, bitter fight... 

_One Johnny wasn’t sure they would win in the end._

“We can handle them.” Taeyong said simply. 

Johnny cleared his throat, “But isn’t it better to be cautious-”

 _“We can handle them."_ the leader repeated sharply, pinning him with a look. 

There was a timid knock at the door. 

Taeyong stepped around Johnny’s hand and opened it.

Chenle was standing there, looking incredibly small, almost swamped in what was probably one of Kun's sweatshirts.

“Is now a bad time?” he asked, hands twisting in the excess fabric. 

Johnny opened his mouth to tell him _ah, sorry we're not quite finished yet,_ but the leader beat him to it. 

“Of course not, what is it?” Taeyong said, shooting the boy a relaxed smile. 

“Well it’s just... Jaehyun and Mark and Donghyuck were experimenting with some of the new tech right?” Chenle trailed off, chewing on his lip.

Johnny fought the urge to go bang his head against the wall. _Not again._

“And?” Taeyong prompted, already switching in protective hyung mode. _Hah, as if it ever turned off._ “Chenle, _and?”_

The boy shifted back and forth, and then blurted out, “And they kinda maybe set off one of the smoke bombs in the name of science and now the whole downstairs shop is filled with smoke and they can’t get the windows open.” 

“Are they alright?” Yuta asked, brow creased in concern.

The boy let out a huffed breath and then his shoulders began to shake and Johnny felt a rush of alarm before he realized the younger boy was _laughing_ so hard that tears were dripping out of the corners of his eyes.

“Yeah, it’s just, they’re covered in smoke, Mark’s freaking out, he ruined Renjun’s new shoes, it’s so funny-”

Taeyong just sighed, relaxing again. “ _Great_. Well, let’s go save them.”

The two disappeared down the hall. _There went the rest of their conversation._

Johnny dropped into the chair next to Yuta's, rubbing at his face. 

“Honestly, Jaehyun’s practically asking to lose the other eye too.” Yuta said, lips quirking upwards. “Always taking these kinds of risks.”

Johnny just huffed. “We don’t need EXO to put us in danger. We’re a danger to ourselves.”

The two sobered at the mention of the gang, sharing another long look. 

“I’ll talk to Ten, see if he can talk some sense into Taeyong about mending things with GOT7. If Kai was serious-”

“He was.” Johnny said firmly.

Yuta looked grim. “Then it seems like we might need some allies soon. Though why he would go against EXO to help _us_ makes no sense to me.”

It wasn’t as hard for Johnny to understand, remembering the boy Kai had been back when he was just _Jongin_ , just another kid on the street trying to survive, who always seemed to find Johnny in time to help him out of his worst moments, who dragged him to dance on the sidewalk to the music flooding out of the record store, who loved to laugh until he couldn’t breathe.

But he hadn’t been the Jongin Johnny had known for a very long time. 

He glanced out the window. Smoke was beginning to drift out into the warehouse floor. There was muffled shouting from somewhere, annoyed but not afraid. It sounded suspiciously like Donghyuck.

We should probably go help.” Johnny said. He didn't move.

Yuta shrugged, closing his eyes and settling down so his head rested on the back of the chair. “Eh, they’ll realize the windows are painted shut eventually.”

“How much do you want to bet someone will get frustrated and just break the window?”

A figure stumbled into the warehouse floor gesturing wildly, their clothes and hair covered in a thin layer of white dust that Johnny recognized as from a fire extinguisher. Jaemin, Jisung and Dongyoung abandoned their game of tag to investigate, crowding around the person, who was pointing in the direction of the smoke with frantic motions.

"Ten bucks Taeyong gets there just in time to stop them." Yuta offered.

There was a dull crash and more shouting. The figure, who Johnny had now identified as Mark, _bless him_ , disappeared down the hall again, the other three teens in tow. 

Yuta muttered a curse. He pulled out his wallet and handed Johnny a ten dollar bill without ever opening his eyes. 

Johnny settled back in his chair, grinning as he pocketed it. NCT hadn't struggled with money for years now, but Johnny had lived on the streets for even longer than that, and an unexpected ten dollars still held the same excitement. Beside him, Yuta looked so comfortable that Johnny tipped his head back as well, and closed his eyes. 

It wouldn't hurt to let Taeyong handle this one.

_And no, this was definitely not payback, what are you talking about?_

* * * 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me a few months ago: “let’s write a BTS & TXT fic where they have powers!! Simple!”
> 
> Me now, staring at what has become a six group fic with over 50 characters which literally requires several different charts for me to keep track of the details: (mark lee voice) “oh wow.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of blood/stab injury, vague descriptions of an anxiety attack
> 
> thank you for 100 kudos!! <3

_They were getting closer._

He prodded at his shoulder, unable to hold back a hiss, his head tilting back. 

_Damn ice powers._ _Who knew getting skewered with an icicle would hurt so much?_

His comm crackled, finally, _finally,_ coming to life with his leader’s terse voice. “Jackson, I got the emergency alert, what the hell is going on?”

“I’m in a bit of a tight spot.” Somehow, miraculously, he managed to keep his voice even, despite the sharp throbbing of his shoulder. “Could use some backup.”

There were hints of a faint conversation too quiet for him to hear, the clacking of a keyboard.

"So... about that backup?" Jackson asked, trying not to sound impatient, but he was kinda _bleeding everywhere, they didn't have all the time in the world here._

“We're on our way." Jaebeom said. "Youngjae’s got a lock on your location.” 

A little crackle and Bambam's voice cut in. “What’s happening? I just saw the alert. Mark and I are halfway across the city, we won’t be able to make it anytime soon.”

“Jackson, what are you doing in the warehouse district?” Youngjae asked, and Jackson could hear the sound of their van revving to life. “If NCT finds out, they'll throw a fit-”

“We’ve got bigger things to worry about.” Jackson cut him off. “EXO’s after me.”

A slight pause then, accusatory, “What the hell did you do?”

Jackson didn't answer, busy tearing a strip off the bottom of his shirt with his teeth. He wound it as best he could with one hand around his shoulder, trying to stem some of the bleeding, and couldn't hold back a pained grunt as he pulled the makeshift bandage tight.

"This was one of my favorites too." he muttered, glancing down at what used to be one of his most stylish shirts. _Even if it did manage to survive the fight,_ s _omehow he didn't think bleeding-profusely-from-an-icicle-wound was going to be a fashion trend this year._

“Jackson,” And there was Mark’s voice, somber. "Are you injured?"

He chose to pretend he hadn't heard Mark's question as he leaned to peer around the side of the desk, hissing a bit as it jostled his shoulder.

"I didn’t do anything, I swear. They attacked Jinyoung and I out of nowhere on the street. We got separated.”

“Is he all right?”

“I think he’s fine. We split up and they didn’t send anyone after him.” 

“So they’re after... you?" Jaebeom said, confusion evident.

"Why would they be after Jackson?” Yugyeom murmured. 

_Jackson hoped desperately their maknae was wasn't on his way with Jaebeom and Youngjae. He didn't need to see this._

“My stunning good looks and charming personality?” he offered. 

“ _Jackson._ ”

He huffed, mood turning grim again, and clenched his teeth as he shifted to check the door again.

“Haven’t you heard?" he said. "They’re on the hunt.”

A long pause. “But you’re not powered.” Mark said slowly.

_That what they'd all thought, hadn't they. Even Jackson himself._

He gave a bitter, rasping laugh, and let his head fall back against the side of the metal desk with a dull thunk. “Surprise, hyung. Turns out I’m a late bloomer.”

A string of curses from the other end of the line and vaguely someone called for Jaebeom to drive faster.

“Just found out a few days ago. I didn’t get the chance to tell you all yet. No idea how EXO even found out.”

Dim voices echoed down the hallway and he went perfectly still.

“Jackson. _Jackson?”_

Fleetingly he wished he didn't know his leader well enough to pick up the subtle note in his voice that told him Jaebeom was afraid. Afraid for _him_. 

"How far out are you?” he murmured, listening to the voices slowly get louder. 

“Still fifteen minutes away. Can you hold out?”

Jackson let his eyes slip shut for a moment, trying not to curse. “Of course. I’m Jackson Wang.” he said and was proud that he managed to sound both insulted and confident. 

“Okay, we'll be there soon. Everyone cut the chatter so he can focus.”

"See you soon, Jackson." Bambam said, and Jackson could hear the demand in his voice. 

"I'll leave a few guys so you can have some fun too, don't worry." Jackson said, and got to hear their brief laughter before they cut their comms. 

The sudden silence felt even more jarring than it had been before he'd been able to reach them. Each of his breaths sounded thunderous in the dimly lit room, and he could almost imagine the sound of his blood pumping through veins in response to his adrenaline.

“Jacksooon!” someone sing-songed, voice echoing up and down the deserted hallways. Jackson didn't manage to stop himself from startling. “Come out come out wherever you are. We just want to talk!” 

_It wouldn’t be long until they found him. He’d been dripping blood most of the way._

Sure enough, footsteps ambled up outside the door. Paused. There was a light knock. 

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” someone sang.

_They were playing with him._

_But they also thought he’d ran out of bullets ten minutes ago._

Jackson slid his last clip into his gun with a click and held his breath, readying himself. _EXO was in for a surprise_ , he thought, and felt a faint thread of amusement revive itself. 

The door swung open. 

* * *

A match flared, illuminating Taehyun’s face. He carefully lit the two candles on the table, shifting his cushion closer as if he could draw warmth from the meager light. Kai wasn't looking at him, eyes instead fixed on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees.

“We have to do it.” Taehyun said quietly.

Kai shifted his gaze to him, shaking his head. “We _can’t._ What about the vigilantes? Soobin will kill us himself.”

“Not if he’s dead.”

He hated himself a little for having to ruin the other's hope, for causing that fear the flashed over the Kai face. The maknae curled his arms a little tighter over his knees, eyes wide, clearly shaken at Taehyun's uncharacteristically grim words.

"But... they're gonna get better-" he said weakly.

Taehyun took in a slow breath. “Kai... if they were going to get over this by themselves... they would have been better by now."

The maknae shook his head desperately, gaze growing wet. "They can't- they _can't_ -" _... die._

The freight car's heavy door rattled as a gust of wind shook it. Kai's breathing was becoming increasingly erratic and Taehyun scooted quickly around the table to tug on the younger boy's arm, blanching as another gust of wind sent the door sliding a bit to the side.

"Kai. Listen to me." he said soothingly, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt. _This had always been Soobin-hyung's job, calming Kai down, he should be here right now, not Taehyun, Taehyun didn't know what to do._ He tugged on Kai's arm, a little harder, and the boy finally looked at him.

"Hyungs will be fine, okay?" Taehyun said, trying for a small smile. It fell quickly off his face when Kai didn't respond. "But we have to help them."

It didn't look like the words were processing, panic still thrumming in Kai's eyes, so he tried again.

"We can't wait for them to get even worse; we have to do _something._ It’s either call the police and go back into the system and be separated forever, or get them medicine. Hyungs have helped us so much. We can do this for them, can't we?”

Kai's gaze strayed over to Soobin and Yeonjun and Beomgyu, curled up in their little corner of ratty blankets, their breathing labored. He bit his lip, but finally seemed to be back in the moment. Taehyun reached over to squeeze the boy's cold hand. 

“Can't we?” he repeated.

Kai brought his eyes back to Taehyun, searching his face. Whatever grim facts he found there made him pale further. After a long moment, the boy gave a single, sharp nod, squeezed his hand back.

“Okay." Kai whispered. "We’ll do what it takes for hyungs.”

* * *

“Shit.”

Jaebeom followed Yugyeom's eyes to the bloody handprint on the stairwell door. 

"Looks like we have the right floor." Youngjae murmured, nodding his head at the trail of dark liquid that disappeared down the hall beyond.

Jaebeom could make a few scuffed boot prints in the blood, a vibrant red against the grey concrete. 

"Someone's already been here." he said, and the others understood the warning, immediately more alert. “Youngjae, you’re with me. Yugyeom, you take lookout. If you see anyone, I don’t want you engaging without my go ahead. If EXO’s still hanging around, we’ll need Bambam and Jinyoung’s for backup.”

Yugyeom sent him a look that said, _I know exactly what you’re doing_ , but seeing Jaebeom’s grim expression, he didn't protest. He took up a stance behind one of the pillars, gun ready in his hands, eyes fixed on the stairwell. 

_The leader knew their maknae had witnessed worse over the years, but he didn't want Yugyeom seeing whatever horrific scene could be waiting for them. Especially since it wasn't some random drug lord this time... it was Jackson. And Jackson wouldn't have gone without a fight._

Youngjae tapped away at his phone for a few moments, and then turned grim eyes down a long, dusty concrete hallway, dark doorways opening up to the right.

“He should be just a hundred yards ahead, a little to the southeast.”

 _The same direction as the blood_. Jaebeom couldn't keep his eyes from straying back to the grim trail. _Far too much blood,_ his brain supplied, _but not enough of a loss to be fatal... Not yet._ He slid his gun out of its holster and held a finger to his lips. Youngjae got the message, and Jaebeom watched as his face slipped into something stony.

Jaebeom jerked his head and the two slowly made their way down the hall, steps soft against the concrete. So focused on the dark doorways and what they might hold, he pressed forward until Youngjae took in a sharp breath. Jaebeom paused, following his eyes to a patch of wall across one of the doorways. It was riddled with bullet holes, the all too familiar splatter of red against drywall.

“Someone scored a hit." Yugyeom murmured, uncertainty lining his voice. 

_The question was: had it been Jackson or one of EXO?_

Jaebeom hefted his gun, approaching the dark doorway slowly. He waited for a long minute, barely breathing as he listened, while Youngjae silently crept to a better position to back him up. Their eyes met. _Three, two, one-_ Jaebeom swung his arms into the doorway, leading with his gun, sweeping the room for signs of life. 

_Please be here, having driven EXO off, ready to make some dumb joke-_

“Jackson.” he whispered hesitantly into the darkness, against his better judgment.

“Unfortunately not.” 

Jaebeom whipped his gun up. Cross legged on the desk, a man held up his hands, silver jacket crinkling quietly with the moment.

The leader lowered his weapon quickly, swallowing. “Ten. Don’t _do_ that.”

The NCT member shrugged, amused. “Not like you would have been able to hit me.” 

Shoving down his surprise, Jaebeom moved further into the room, taking in the puddle of blood behind the desk, _like someone had been hiding there_ , the shell casing scattered around, and lastly, the in-ear comms unit, sitting there on the floor, perfectly intact, like it was waiting for them. 

He spun to Ten. “How long have you been here?”

The man shrugged. “Three minutes at most. We were sent out to investigate a disturbance around here, but when we got here, there was no one.” Ten tilted his head at him, hopped neatly off the desk. He ambled around the desk, casual, but his gaze was sharp. “Why is GOT7 here? So close to NCT territory?”

Youngjae appeared in the doorway, eyes flickering over the room, the blood, the unexpected occupant. He looked to Jaebeom, who just shook his head. _No Jackson._

"It seems like quite the fight went down here.” Ten’s footsteps were near silent as he trailed closer, eyes flicking between the two of them.

“Seems like it.” was all Jaebeom said in return. He eyed the abandoned comms and made a sharp hand motion to Youngjae, _comms compromised._ The younger man, to his credit, didn't react other than the slight widening of his eyes. He disappeared back out the door, to inform the others out of earshot of the NCT member. 

GOT7's leader turned his attention back to the other occupant of the room. 

"You didn't find anyone on the premises?"

Ten tapped at his chin. "That depends. Is there someone you're hoping to find?"

Jaebeom paused in his sweep of the room and studied the NCT member for a long beat. Ten met his eyes easily, eyebrows raised. _The man didn't actually know anything,_ Jaebeom realized, he _was just fishing for information._ The leader turned away again, glancing briefly over a dusty filing cabinet and rickety bookcase before he had to admit to himself there was nothing else to be found. 

“If we were, they're clearly not here." he said, giving a casual shrug. "Tell Taeyong we’re leaving.”

“You can tell me yourself.”

Jaebeom slowly turned and found NCT’s leader in the doorway, Johnny, his second, at his side. Youngjae and Yugyeom were hovering in the background, eyeing the NCT members carefully. 

“Hello Taeyong. There was no need to come yourself, we were just-”

“Why are you here?” the man interrupted.

Jaebeom refused to appear disgruntled at the lack of decorum. He met the other leader's gaze straight on. “We had some business to take care of.” 

Taeyong strolled past him to the desk, and the elder was forced to quickly shift his weight to the left to avoid being rammed by the man's shoulder.

Taeyong eyed the blood on the floor disdainfully. “Take care of it elsewhere in the future.” 

Jaebeom forced himself to keep his breathing even despite the disrespect, even as Youngjae shifted, face twisting. _To think they'd once been allies._

“We’d all prefer that, wouldn't we." he said, forcing a cold smile. "We’ll be going now.”

Taeyong held out a lazy hand, and everyone stilled. His sharp eyes dug into Jaebeom's own. “First, I’d like to know what you’re doing here. So close to our territory.”

“Can’t get any of your mind-readers to figure that out for you?” Youngjae muttered bitterly, and Jaebeom shot him a look. 

_Don't antagonize NCT's leader and second when GOT7_ was _technically the ones in the wrong here. They were far too close to NCT's headquarters, he'd admit, but what choice did they have, ignore Jackson's distress call?_

NCT's leader glanced over, gave a lazy grin. “I don’t think we need to go that far. Not unless there was a _real_ threat.”

Jaebeom didn’t miss the implication that GOT7 wasn’t a threat, wasn’t strong enough to even be a worthy rival. Yugyeom visibly bristled and Youngjae's expression melted into a glare. _He couldn't let an insult like that slide._

“I think you’re forgetting who did you all those favors when NCT was just a teenage dream.” he said sharply.

Johnny met his gaze. “If I remember correctly, we did GOT7 plenty of favors too, once we had our feet under us.” 

“And how did you repay your allies?" Taeyong said, voice dark as he sneered at them. "You turned Mark over to EXO.” 

Jaebeom stiffened, unable to keep the incredulity out of his voice. “You and I _both_ know that’s not how it went-”

“I want you out of the warehouse district." Taeyong plowed over his words, pointedly brushing his coat back and resting a hand on the holster at his side. "And don't come back." 

Jaebeom had to fight not to shout, frustrated at the younger man's complete disinterest in hearing their explanations. _They were just here for Jackson, they didn't care about NCT's business, whatever it was._

"We'll be on our way then." he said evenly and hated the way he felt uncomfortable turning his back to Johnny, Taeyong, and Ten to walk out the door. _A year ago he wouldn't have even thought twice, content in the knowledge the two groups watched out for each other._

He couldn’t stop himself from pausing in the doorway and saying lowly, “You’re truly an idiot if you think you’ll be able to protect your people with this isolationist mentality forever.”

Taeyong's face was cold, twisted into something almost unrecognizable as he met Jaebeom's gaze. “The day GOT7 crosses NCT will be the day you’re destroyed.”

Next to Taeyong, Johnny shifted, and if Jaebeom wasn't mistaken, he looked almost exasperated. 

GOT7's leader just shook his head, feeling his age. _Taeyong was intelligent, he knew. He had to be; he led one of the most powerful groups in the city, had a web of underground contacts at his disposal, protected 21 members. But for all his intelligence, he could also be a fool._

“GOT7 is the least of NCT’s worries. Even if you’d like to believe otherwise.”

Jaebeom tilted his head at Youngjae and Yugyeom and they fell in step with him. 

“We’re leaving now. Wouldn’t want to intrude on your territory any longer.” he said bitterly and walked away before the NCT members could say anything more. 

_They didn’t have time to get wrapped up in a territory dispute right now. They needed to find Jackson. There was still a chance the man had been forced to leave his comm behind to throw EXO off his trail and had disappeared into the city, not contacting them in an attempt to lay low._

A familiar car squealed up as they made it to the van, dust flying up as the driver slammed on the breaks.

Bambam shot out of the vehicle, leaving the passenger's door wide open behind him. He jogged over to where they were gathering on the crumbling gravel path next to the warehouse, his clothing rumpled and disheveled. Mark followed close behind, brow creased in worry.

“What happened? Where’s Jackson?” Bambam demanded as soon as he was close enough, looking past them.

“Not here.” Youngjae snapped, yanking the door to the van open so hard it nearly bounced back and hit him. Mark caught it at the last second, raised his eyebrows, and Youngjae's shoulders slumped, suddenly deflated. 

Bambam looked back and forth between them. "I- I don't understand, his comm-"

"It was sitting on the floor. Almost waiting for us."

The man's face fell. 

Jaebeom cleared his throat. “Hopefully, he got away and just couldn’t bring his comm with him. We need to switch all ours out. They’re compromised.”

“Already done.” Mark said crisply, held out the blackout bag so they could drop their comms in.

He passed around grey case of backup comms and Jaebeom slid his into his ear, hoping that he’d hear Jackson’s voice demanding to know where they'd been, and _could they stop dilly-dallying and come pick him up now, or did they want to stop and get the dry cleaning first?_

But instead, only silence greeted him.

“Should we sweep the surrounding buildings, just in case?” Bambam asked, already shifting towards the closest warehouse. 

Jaebeom caught his arm, and Bambam faltered, taking in the look on his face.

"What is it?"

“We can’t.” Yugyeom's fists were clenched tight in his sleeves. “NCT is here. They want us off their territory ASAP.”

Bambam grimaced. “Can’t we explain-”

Jaebeom shook his head before that thought could get any further. “They didn’t want to hear it.”

He sent one last look back at the warehouse, where he could see Taeyong and Johnny in one of the windows, watching them. _Honestly, even if one of them_ was _invulnerable, it was still foolish for them to stand there together, at the mercy of anyone with a good perch to shoot from. In a single moment, an enemy could take out the two highest ranking members in one go. He'd harped on the other leader a thousand times before about this, back when they'd been allies. Now if he said anything, Taeyong would probably take it as a subtle declaration that Jaebeom was going to try to assassinate him, and he'd declare war or something._

Mark seemed to sense his hesitation to leave and spoke up, "We got word from Jinyoung. He made it to 513 and is unharmed but he lost his comms in the fight."

“We’ll head there then." Jaebeom said and forced himself to turn away, even though it felt like a betrayal, leaving the last place they'd heard from their missing member when there could still be clues. "We'll regroup there and see if we can contact Jackson.”

_Jackson... where are you?_  
  


* * *

“We’ve got reports of a robbery currently in progress at the HL Pharmacy.” Seokjin called, looking apologetically over the top of his laptop at them.

“Can’t we just have one quiet night?” Taehyung groaned, voice muffled. 

He was stretched out face down on the couch, arm dangling limply off the side. His right wing was brushing the ground, the other draped over the back of the couch, both uncharacteristically disheveled. Jungkook, seated on the floor, was slowly combing the onyx feathers back into place. Every so often he’d pluck out a sliver of glass and drop it in the little pile he had forming on a paper plate. The maknae’s eyes were drooping themselves, head bobbing, and Yoongi didn't think he'd be awake even five minutes more.

The two youngest and Namjoon had handled a pretty big showdown with some trigger-happy drug dealers earlier in the evening while Yoongi, Jimin, and Hoseok were across town investigating reports of a smuggling ring. Given their state of exhaustion, Taehyung and Jungkook were definitely out of the running for handling another big fight tonight, as was Namjoon. _Because y_ _es, that was Namjoon's snores Yoongi could hear faintly down the hall, despite the leader's insistence five minutes ago that he was just going to his room to change into cleaner clothes and he'd be right back in a flash._

Not that the smuggling ring had been a cakewalk either, but at least Yoongi wasn’t about to fall asleep on his feet.

“I’ll take it.” he said abruptly, pushing to his feet. 

Jimin appeared in the doorway, mask already in hand, looking far more alert than Yoongi felt. “I’ll join you, hyung.” 

“Should I take you?” Jungkook muttered, head slumping down into Taehyun's feathers. 

Yoongi rolled his eyes. The boy’s eyes were already closed and he was still volunteering to help them. _Kid never knew when to stop._

“Nah Kook, it’s close by. We’ll be fine on the roofs.”

He hefted himself out of his armchair to toss a blanket over the maknae, nudging him a bit so his head lolled against the couch instead, so he wouldn't wake up with a crick in his neck.

Jimin ruffled the maknae's hair as he passed by and Jungkook made a little protesting noise. 

Yoongi snagged his own mask off the kitchen table, nodded to Jimin. "Ready to go?"

Seokjin called something after them, the classic - _don't do anything stupid without Namjoon's permission- which Yoongi thought was frankly ridiculous cause Namjoon himself did stupid things all the time, how was he going to be the judge of wise decisions,_ but Yoongi wasn't about to argue with Seokjin at two a.m. on a Tuesday night so he just sent a one-handed salute and disappeared over the edge of the window sill. 

When they arrived at the pharmacy, Jimin tilted his head at the broken door, raised his eyebrows. It was sloppily done; the thieves had just knocked out the bottom half of the glass and climbed through the hole. _Amateurs then._

Yoongi rolled his eyes upwards and Jimin huffed an agreement, both prepping to deal with what was likely intoxicated criminals looking for a quick steal. The younger vigilante reached a hand through the large hole and unlocked the door from the inside, pushing it slowly open. A shard of broken glass skittered across the floor as Jimin's foot collided with it, and the two stilled. 

When there was no change, just the same rustling and quiet whispers as before, the vigilantes shared a quick look and further into the store. To Yoongi's surprise, the sounds weren't coming from the back of the store, where there were locked cases of prescription drugs, the stuff thieves or druggies usually went for, hoping to hit it big. Instead, the thieves were in the over-the-counter medicine aisles. 

_Definitely intoxicated idiots then..._

Yoongi paused behind a display for some allergy medication and leaned slowly forward, trying to check if the robbers were armed or appeared volatile before they moved in. 

It only took a second for him to recognize the cheap Halloween masks. 

_Yoongi was going to yell ‘I told you so’ at Namjoon when he got back home._

The shorter of the two thieves sent a nervous glance down the dark aisle, and Yoongi leaned back, out of sight.

The black trash bags over their clothes were new though. _Guess that was one way, though unconventional, to keep your clothing from being an identified factor._

“We've been here too long, Kai, we should go-”

 _That was their cue_. 

Yoongi stepped out from behind the display. “Guess RM’s warning wasn’t enough for you, huh?”

He'd be lying if he said he didn't find the way they jumped vaguely amusing. The two thieves nearly tripped over each other as they twisted around, freezing as they caught sight of the two vigilantes.

“You’re missing your friend.” Yoongi said, tilting his head. “He robbing another place tonight?”

The two didn't say a word, just continued to gape. _Not the talkative type then..._

Jimin looked questioningly at Yoongi, who just shrugged and muttered. “Be careful, their friend was powered. He might show back up.”

“Well, you’ve had your warning.” he announced louder, taking a few slow strides forward. The robbers scrambled backwards on shaky feet. “You’re not getting away this time.”

He raised his hands and ignited them in an easy motion. The firelight threw the aisle into a yellow-orange glow, making the thieves' Halloween masks seem all the more grotesque. Next to him, Jimin shifted into a fighting stance.

The robbers looked desperately at each other and back to the vigilantes. 

"I wouldn't try to run. We have two of our associates stationed outside." _He had no qualms about lying that they had backup if it meant he and Jimin could go home earlier._

The shorter one slowly raised his hands up, kicking the other one's ankle when he didn't immediately do the same as well.

There was a dull hum in Yoongi's ear and Seokjin's voice came over the comms. "Police are held up with some other situations, it'll be about fifteen minutes before anyone reaches your location." he informed them.

Usually they'd just leave the thieves zip-tied for the police to find, but Yoongi had run out after dealing with the smuggling ring and had forgotten to refill his stash before they left. He looked hopefully at Jimin, but the younger man just shook his head, expression sheepish.

Yoongi huffed, crossed his arms. "Guess we're sticking around till the police get here then."

At the words _police_ , the two robbers clearly panicked, turning half around as if searching for an exit. Yoongi recognized the body language of those who were cornered and about to try something desperate and stupid.

"Yah! Don't even think about it!" he yelled, and let the fireball in his hand flare outwards.

Jimin didn't even flinch, it was more of a party trick than anything else, not even enough for the sprinklers to go off, but the thieves went scrabbling backwards anyway. Yoongi rolled his eyes. He wasn't an _amateur_ ; he wouldn't have let the flames touch them anyway. 

"You really should have thought about what would happen before you decided to rob-"

“Hyung’s really sick.” the taller thief blurted out.

Jimin and Yoongi stilled. 

_He... he sounded like a kid._

“He hadn’t woken up in three days.” the thief stammered, words tumbling over one another in his haste. “And we can’t afford any medicine.”

“Be quiet, Kai.” the other one hissed, eying the vigilantes distrustfully. 

"He's just been getting worse and worse, and nothing we tried is helping-"

The shorter boy tugged on his arm, shaking his head frantically, and the thief went quiet again.

Yoongi usually would have said that they were lying, like those in tough situations tended to do, and not given it another thought, but the boy’s voice was watery and his whole body was shaking horribly. He sounded impossibly young. 

"Suga." Jimin said quietly, and tilted his head at the thieves' badly mended worn shoes, socks showing through the holes at the tips. 

_Well, shit. This complicated things._

“Dump out the backpack.” Yoongi ordered.

The shorter one hesitated but turned the backpack upside down.

There was a lump of bread that Suga had a bad feeling was salvaged from the trash. A battered flashlight. A wallet that was too nice to belong to the two. Some old newspapers. And a couple packs of various cold and flu medication.

Yoongi let his arms die out. 

He tapped his earpiece. "Jin, we need you here."

He turned back to the thieves. “If you’re lying to me.” he warned. 

The two shrank backwards.

“I’m not! I’m not.” the boy- _Kai_ \- the other had called him- said quickly.

“And lose the masks and trash bags before someone calls the police again, this time on a cult gathering.”

They fumbled to remove their costumes, _Yoongi refused to call them disguises, it was far too generous a description._ Their faces were even younger than Yoongi had expected, thin and drawn in a way that he intimately remembered from his and Namjoon’s early days. Without the cloaks, he could see their worn clothes for the first time. The shorter boy's jacket looked several sized too small, and Kai's sweatshirt was much too baggy, swamping him despite his height. 

“What are you going to do with us?”

Yoongi sighed, ran a hand down his face. "What your name, kid?"

"... Taehyun."

"Taehyun and Kai. You guys with a gang?"

The two shook their heads. 

"Are you going to turn us in to the police?" Kai asked, face pale in the dim light.

"I haven’t decided yet.” Yoongi said. “First, someone is coming who will be able to help your friend."

“Don’t call EMS.” the boy blurted out, eyes wide.

Jimin stepped forward, tilted his head. “Why not?”

The two looked quickly to each other, eyes wide, likely scrambling for an explanation, but Yoongi could already recognize the panic painted over their faces. They were system kids probably, who didn’t want to be sent back. Yoongi remembered that feeling, the _desperation_. 

There was a loud pop and Seokjin appeared, clutching a wide-eyed Jungkook’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” the eldest demanded, stepping forward. His eyes raked over Yoongi and Jimin before coming to rest on the two thieves, two _kids_. 

“It’s not for us.” Yoongi said brusquely. “We’re going to check on our friend from the other night.”

He turned his eyes to the thieves. “We’re not gonna be walking into a gang hideout or anything right?”

Kai’s face scrunched up. He shook his head firmly. “No.” 

“Lead the way, then.”

He waited for Taehyun to repack the backpack. The boy left the almost stolen medicine untouched on the ground like it would burn him. 

They followed the thieves out the door, staying close in case they tried to run. _Not that they’d get very far if they tried._

"Just an FYI. You can just make a hole big enough to reach through and unlock the door from the inside." Jimin spoke up, with a slight grin. "No need to go all commando crawling through the door and make a mess."

"Yah, don't give them _robbery_ advice!" Seokjin chided, making a face. "Please ignore him." he told the thieves, but the shorter one clearly wasn't following the conversation, stopping short on the sidewalk, eyes wide.

Yoongi slowed down, watching him carefully. 

“We shouldn’t do this." Taehyun whispered, eyes finding Kai's. "They’ll know where we live.” 

“It’s either this or we let the police figure this situation out.” Yoongi spoke up with a shrug, before they waste time in the cold agonizing over it. “Which would you prefer?” 

A long moment of silence as the two seemed to share a silent conversation.

“We’ll find another place.” Kai finally murmured, and led them away from the pharmacy. 

Unease stirred in Yoongi's gut as they wove closer and closer to the east side, the city slowly turning more and more decrepit around them. They needed to be on guard here, especially with Seokjin with them and Jungkook likely still exhausted. The eldest, for his part, clearly didn't miss the way that Jimin and Yoongi shifted to be on either side of him and Jungkook, the thieves trailing slightly along ahead. He raised his eyebrows and Yoongi just looked back, unrepentant. 

They were cutting down an alleyway when the Seokjin broke the tense silence, addressing one of the thieves directly.

“Is your arm okay?”

Taehyun startled and nearly tripped on the sidewalk. He reached up to clutch at his left forearm, which was covered by his jacket, eyes wide.

“It seems painful.” Seokjin added, more quietly this time.

“How did you know that?” the boy whispered, watching him warily,

“I’ve got a special talent for knowing.” Seokjin said vaguely. He took a careful step forward, shooting the thief a small smile. “I can help the pain, if you’d like.”

The boy’s gaze darted all over the place. “I'm fine.” he said stiffly, and none of them missed the way the kid's pace picked up a bit so he was closer to Kai.

And then they were at a strangely familiar chain-link fence, watching as the two thieves clambered over with practiced ease. 

Jimin followed them, climbing quickly over and Jungkook blinked Seokjin and Yoongi across, joining the three on the other side.

The thieves were visibly more twitchy now as the group wove their way through the outskirts of the east side. Yoongi could see a few can fires in the distance, shapes hovering around, but it was far enough away that no one saw them. 

But then Yoongi stopped in his tracks as the two thieves climbed over a second, unmistakable fence and dropped into the old rail yard.

"Oh." Jimin breathed. 

_What were the chances..._

Next to him, Jungkook was frozen, eyes wide. Yoongi nudged him and he seemed to return to himself. The maknae blinked them across again, one by one by this time. _Must be getting tired._

“I haven’t been back here since…” Seokjin murmured. He shook his head, picked up his pace.

The two thieves hadn't seemed to have heard, several yards ahead now, feet crunching in the loose gravel. They were whispering to each other, arguing it seemed, but somehow Yoongi knew they weren't going to make a run for it now.

“It looks worse than before.” Jimin said quietly, taking in the rusty train cars, the broken glass littered across the ground. “If that’s even possible.”

And there it was... the familiar blue freight car. Yoongi couldn't stop his feet from veering away, leading him up to it like his limbs remembered walking this path a million times. 

_It’d been years since he thought about this place._

He ignited one hand and took several steps forward, holding it up. The seven initials carved into the rust over the doorway were faded, nearly washed away by time and the weather, but they were still legible: _KN, KS, MY, JH, PJ, KT, JJ._ Vaguely he heard the others come to stand next to him.

"The paint's faded." Jungkook whispered.

And Yoongi could remember the day he'd seen the freight car for the first time. Months after he had befriended an angry boy just as afraid as he was. And Namjoon had carved out a place in his huge stockpile of tattered books for him, and then for the others, as they found them, one by one.

Yoongi had been less than impressed, that first time Namjoon had trusted him enough to show him his home... but it had a roof that didn't leak and walls that kept out the snow. And then one day, they'd all been perched on the top of the train car, cracking dumb jokes as the sun set, and Yoongi had realized that somehow, without a conscious choice, this rusty freight car far too full with seven people had become _home._

“We’re almost there.” Kai called back, hesitantly. He looked between the car and them but didn't ask. 

Yoongi cleared his throat and stepped away, letting his flames die out. Pretended not to see the way Seokjin let his hand brush over the door as he turned away. 

They ducked between another row of train cars and wove their way down the next lines. It was getting darker with every step as they moved further away from the rare light posts that dotted the east end, and Yoongi vaguely entertained the idea that these two kids were leading them into a trap. It felt even colder here in the darkness, without the street-lamps warm glow. Next to him, Jungkook was hunching into his jacket, ears red where they peeked out of his hair. 

Seokjin stiffened, that’s how Yoongi knew they had arrived even before the thieves came to a stop next to a faded orange freight car.

It brought back memories Yoongi didn't know he was nostalgic for, watching them tug on the heavy door. By the time he shook himself and moved forward to help, they'd already got it open. 

“Hyungs, we’re back.” one called softly as they scrambled inside. There was no answer.

Yoongi couldn't make out anything but inky blackness. 

"I'll keep watch." Jimin said before he could ask, turning his eyes towards the shadows of the rail yard.

Seokjin was already clambering into the car before Yoongi could stop him, probably focused on whatever he could sense. Yoongi carefully ignited a small fireball in one hand and climbed up after them, Jungkook on his heels. 

The nostalgia hit him so hard that he forgot to breathe for a moment. It was so similar to what their own car had looked like back then, cobbled together furniture, cardboard boxes, rusted walls. These kids clearly didn’t have the generator that Namjoon had saved up for, given how dark the place was, and how cold. It felt only _slightly_ warmer than the freezing temperatures outside. But at the base, it felt the same, so undeniably _familiar,_ and Yoongi had to remind himself to stay on guard.

To his left, Taehyun was carefully lighting a few candles. Kai made his way over to a pile of blankets in the corner. 

“Hyung. _Hyung, wake up_. We’ve got visitors.” The boy shook the lump's shoulder lightly. There was a soft groan but no answer. 

Yoongi moved closer and froze.

There wasn’t one kid there but three horribly pale ones, all huddled under the pile of thin blankets.

Seokjin slipped past him, crouching next to them. He reached out a hand, only to stop when Taehyun bit out, “What are you doing?"

“I can help them.” Seokjin said quietly, meeting his suspicious gaze with honesty. “Please.”

The boy's hands were clutched in the fabric of his too small jacket, eyes darting from Seokjin to his hyungs and back again as he clearly struggled with himself.

Seokjin rocked back on his heels, watching the kid carefully. “Please, they need help.”

“And you can help?" Kai spoke up. "Are you a doctor?”

“Something like that.” Seokjin told him, smiling gently at him before he turned back to Taehyun. “I can prove it to you, if you like. Your arm, it's burned, isn't it?”

The boy's eyes widened, and he looked quickly down at his arm, as if to check that it was still covered by his jacket.

"Can I see?" Seokjin asked carefully, tone not dissimilar to someone trying not to spook a wounded animal. "I just want to help."

Taehyun hesitated, then tugged up his sleeve, baring his arm to Seokjin. Behind Yoongi, Jungkook took in a sharp breath.

There was an angry burn there, stretching nearly the length of the kid's inner elbow to his wrist. It was fresh, Yoongi would say, from the past day or two, still red and blistered. His eyes flickered up to the large, inexplicable torch mark on the ceiling, like a bonfire had gone out of control inside the car, and a niggling suspicion began to nudge at his mind.

Seokjin stood and reached out a hand. He waited until the boy nodded, and then placed his hand over the burn.

Taehyun flinched, going stiff, but didn’t make a sound. There was a long moment and the boy’s face slowly cleared, the pain slipping away as confusion replaced it. When Seokjin removed his hand, there was just a long, thin, slightly raised scar left behind, as if it had been months since the injury had happened. 

The boy gaped at it, running his other hand back and forth across his arm like he thought it was an illusion. Kai stepped forward, eyes just as wide, and the two shared a flabbergasted look that had Yoongi fighting back a snort. Jungkook was grinning unabashedly. Finally, Taehyun turned back to them and gave Seokjin a careful nod.

The eldest moved back to crouch next to the unconscious teens. “How long have they been sick?” he asked.

“Yeon-” Kai cut himself off before he could finish the name, instead pointing at one whose hair had faded blue streaks in it. “He got it first, eight days ago. Then,” He pointed at the brown haired one. “He got it two days later. And then,” He motioned to their powered friend. “He got it five days ago.”

Seokjin reached out to lay a hand on the forehead of the closest, the powered one. The kid made a soft noise, eyes fluttering slightly, but didn't awaken. The vigilante grimaced and moved his hand to the next one. Then the third. Neither of the last two even twitched, their raspy breathing constant.

The man let out a breath and sat back on his heels, face grave. 

"Are they... are hyungs going to be okay?" Kai asked, sounding almost afraid to hear the answer.

Seokjin didn't hesitate, shaking his head. “It’s pneumonia. They should be in a hospital.”

Taehyun's clutched at Kai's arm, eyes wide, but Kai didn't even seem to notice the other boy's presence, shaking his head sharply.

“We can’t go to a hospital.” 

“You don’t have a choice." Seokjin said, voice slipping into something scolding. "Pneumonia can be _deadly_. It’s heavily advanced already.” 

“We _can’t._ ” Kai repeated, panicked. He was breathing in short little bursts, Yoongi realized, his hands shaking badly.

"Um, Jin, maybe-" Jungkook started to say-

There was a bellowing crash of thunder above them, rattling the whole train car and Yoongi nearly jumped out of his skin.

The _hell._ It had been perfectly clear, if a bit windy, just a few hours ago.

Yoongi’s eyes flickered to the Kai, who was close to hyperventilating, rain beginning to pound down on the metal roof. Taehyun was tugging on his arm, whispering something Yoongi couldn't hear, but he could recognize the demeanor of someone trying to calm another. 

Oh. _Oh._

“Okay, okay. No hospital.” Yoongi said loudly, fighting to be heard over the din. 

Jimin scrambled up into the train car, still perfectly dry despite the downpour, rain shifting around him as if there was an invisible barrier surrounding his body. Together he and Jungkook worked the door partway closed to keep water from rushing in. 

"Formed too quickly to be natural, hyung. We should be on guard." Jimin said, brow furrowed as he stared out at the sudden storm.

Kai made a sort of strangled noise and Taehyun shot them a surprisingly venomous look. 

Jimin just blinked, confused, but Yoongi got the message, looking away from the kids in favor of studying the knick-knacks littering the car. He raised his eyebrows and Jimin and Jungkook caught on, doing the same. Seokjin was already making himself busy fixing the teens' blankets, fussing over a tear in the fabric of one.

It took several minutes but the rain finally calmed again. 

Kai looked drawn and exhausted when Yoongi turned back to them, fighting to keep his eyes open as he leaned up against his friend.

“How many of you are powered?” Yoongi asked quietly. 

Taehyun said nothing, gaze fixed on his sick hyungs. He looked painfully tense. 

_Three at the very least, then, because Yoongi would give his right arm if one of these kids wasn’t a fire manipulator._

“No hospital, okay, but you can’t stay here.” Seokjin told them, standing up. “Even if I help the healing process along, they’ll just relapse under these conditions.”

He nodded his head at Kai, whose eyes were closed now, head lolled on Taehyun's shoulder. “The kid’s already got the early stages of the flu, too. It won't be long before you catch one of the two.”

“Is there… a group you guys are on good terms with?" Jimin spoke up. "That you could stay with for a little bit?”

The boy was silent.

“You can’t stay here.” Seokjin repeated. 

“Bang Chan.” Taehyun said suddenly, looking up at them.

“Of the Strays?”

The kid nodded.

“Bambam talks about him.” Jungkook said quietly. “He’s a good guy. Cares about people.” 

“Strays it is, then.” Yoongi declared. “Grab anything you'll need.”

* * *

“Bangtan. Do you have any idea what time it is?” Chan ground out, glaring at them through bleary eyes. He pulled the door open just enough to step out and closed it quickly behind him. “Is there something you need?” 

Of all the people he’d thought would be knocking on his door at three in the morning, the Bangtan Boys were probably the most unexpected. And of course it had to be the first time this week he had actually been _asleep_ at this relatively early hour (for him anyway).

“A favor, actually.” Suga said, shifting out of the way. “Got room for five? Just for a little while.”

Chan’s wariness immediately melted into concern as he caught sight of TXT. Only one of the five, Taehyun, actually looked _conscious._ He had an arm looped around the significantly taller Kai, fighting to keep the dozing maknae upright. 

Jungkook was carrying Yeonjun on his back, the boy eerily pale, head lolling on the vigilante's shoulder. Soobin was on Jin's back, somehow looking even worse than Yeonjun. Chan couldn't even make out the leader's face, the kid's tangled hair covering his eyes. Beomgyu was muttering something incomprehensible from his place next to Jimin, who was supporting what looked like almost all of his weight.

“What happened?” the Strays leader bit out, hurrying over to help Taehyun with the tall maknae. He shoved the door open with his foot. “Come in, come in.”

Hyunjin appeared in a dark doorway as they entered, eyes wide as he took in the visitors.

“We can put them on the couch for now.” Chan told them, waving them forward. “Hyunjin, can you move Soonie?”

The teen hurried forward to lift a brown and white tabby cat off the couch, holding it in his arms almost like a shield as he stared at the vigilantes.

They lowered Beomgyu and Soobin into one couch, Kai on the other, and Yeonjun was propped up in the armchair.

“Jinnie, go wake Changbin please.”

The teen shot them one last wide-eyed look and vanished down the hall. Taehyun was checking on his members, brushing their hair out of their faces and talking to them, trying to get a response. Seokjin went over to join him, speaking too softly for Yoongi to hear.

Chan rounded on Yoongi, eyes fiery. “What happened?” 

"It's kind of a long story." Jimin admitted.

"Then give me the abridged version." Chan snapped.

_He didn't have the patience for small talk when TXT had been missing from the streets for several days, only to be brought to Chan's door in the middle of the night by the local vigilantes, looking half dead._

The teen Yoongi assumed was Changbin stepped into the living room, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and stopped short at the sight in front of him. 

"What's going on, is that TXT?" he demanded, all exhaustion forgotten as he spun to glare at the vigilantes. The effect was slightly dampened by the fact that he was wearing pajama pants with fire trucks on them. 

“We caught the younger two trying to rob a pharmacy." Yoongi stepped in, before they could jump to any more conclusions. "Turns out the other three have pneumonia.”

“It’s pretty bad.” Jimin spoke up. “They live in an old freight car. They don’t even have heat.”

Chan cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair. “We’ve been trying to figure out for months where they live, but they’re wary. Keep to themselves. I knew it wasn’t good but...”

He let out a frustrated breath, crossing the room to a small closet and pulling out a stack of blankets. 

“Jin can help them along,” Yoongi said. “but they’d just get sick again where they’re staying.”

“They can stay here.” Chan cut in before he could say anything further. “I’ve been trying to convince them to let us help for a while now. I would have made space for them if they’d asked.”

Jimin and Yoongi looked carefully around the apartment. It was cluttered, every space occupied with a purpose. Yoongi was pretty sure he could see stacks of clothes inside some of the kitchen cabinets, name labels on doors. The pile of shoes by the door was nearly a foot high.

“Do you have room?”

Yoongi winced at Jimin's slightly thoughtless words. Changbin straightened up, scowling as he caught the vigilante's doubtful look. "We have _plenty_ of room. We can take care of them." 

Jimin seemed to realize his mistake. He dipped his head in acknowledgement, a bit of apology in his eyes. The Strays leader, for his part, didn't even seem to have noticed the interaction. His concerned gaze was fixed on TXT.

“We'll clear out the smaller bedroom." he said, nodding at Changbin, who sent Yoongi one last suspicious glance and disappeared down the hall again. "The boys sleep in each other’s rooms half the time anyway. They’ll be happy for the excuse for a sleepover. How long will Jin need?”

Yoongi shrugged. “Depends on how bad it is.”

It ended up being nearly fifteen minutes, and when Seokjin stood, he swayed, eyes fluttering. Jimin was quick to dart forward and support him. 

“Need some water?” Chan asked, already moving towards the kitchen.

Seokjin waved him off. “Just rest. They’re on their way to recovery now, fever should break soon, but they still need warmth and food and rest, or they could relapse again. For god’s sake, don’t let them go back to the train car.”

Changbin had rejoined them, helping Chan distribute the blankets to TXT far more slowly than necessary, probably so he could keep an eye on Bangtan. It wasn't like he was causing any issues with his repeated wary looks, so Chan let it slide, tucking one the blankets around a flushed Soobin. 

Blessedly, the TXT members did seem to be sleeping now, rather than unconscious, their faces having regained some much needed-color, their breathing deeper and more clear. At some point, Taehyun had joined Kai in the armchair and fallen asleep with his head on the younger’s shoulder. 

It was cute that Chan’s heart ached. Until he remembered _why_ they were asleep in his living room at three in the morning.

“You don't have to worry; they won't be going back there.” he told Jin firmly and even Changbin blinked at the conviction in his voice. 

“You need a hand moving them?” 

“Changbin and I got it. We’re used to carrying around tired kids. Go get some rest, you all look ready to drop.” 

When Yoongi turned, he found that Jungkook had only made it a few steps into the room before he had fallen asleep on his feet, eyes closed and head bowed. 

“Guess we’re taking a taxi home, then.” He wrapped an arm around the maknae and guided him towards the door.

Jimin and Seokjin were already halfway to the elevator when Yoongi hesitated in the hall, turning back. “Chan... Take care of them.” 

The leader paused in closing the door and nodded, solemn. “Of course.”

And if Yoongi waited to be sure he heard the lock slide into place before he walked away to join the others at the elevators, no one could prove it. He was just fixing his shoe, that's all, he wasn't _worried_ , Suga didn't _get_ worried about the safety of random street waifs so _stop smirking, Jimin-_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, finally having NCT's 21 names and faces down: I can rest now.  
> SM: SURPRISE!!! You THOUGHT
> 
> No, but for real, so excited for NCT 2020, and a warm welcome to Shotaro and Sungchan!
> 
> Updates will be a bit slower as I have returned to uni and there is a veritable avalanche of work on the horizon <3 Just wanted to say I really appreciate you all, thank you for your support and excitement about this story! Sending all the best vibes for a wonderful October your way!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years everyone!! So glad to finally bring you all chapter five, which, while not covering any particularly difficult scenes to write content-wise, was for some reason akin to wrestling a boa constrictor covered in butter while riding a unicycle whose sole tire is flat (me on the unicycle, not the boa constrictor, though that would be very impressive). 
> 
> TW: mention of blood/gun violence, very vague illusion to suspected child abuse

Someone was breathing in his ear, soft puffs of hair ruffling his face. A familiar warmth was pressed up against his side, and it was quiet and dark, but the hair tickling his ear kept Beomgyu from slipping back into sleep. 

“Move.” he grumbled, scrunching his nose.

Not even needing to open his eyes to know who it was, he dragged up a hand and pushed Kai’s head to the side so he wasn’t _breathing on his face anymore._ The maknae didn’t even wake up, mumbling a bit and rolling to the other side without a hitch in his breathing. 

_And taking most of the blankets with him._

A wave of cold air hit Beomgyu and he found himself awake, shivering at the sudden change in temperature. 

“Kai!” 

He reached out and grabbed the edge of the blankets, trying to wrestle them back-

 _Blankets that… were much too soft._ He’d gotten used to the scratchiness, the uneven patches that Yeonjun had made with the clothes they’d grown out of, even the occasional hole (ventilation as Soobin called it). And he didn’t remember the mass of lumpy mismatched cushions that they used as sleeping mats being this _plush_ and _smooth._

_Had Soobin finally saved enough money to buy them new mats like he’d always been talking about?_

_Wait, Soobin couldn’t have, Soobin was sick, and so was Yeonjun, even Beomgyu was sick-_

His eyes flew open and he found himself staring up at the unfamiliar slats of a bunk bed. He shoved himself upright on weak arms, heart beginning to pound in his chest. 

They were in a small bedroom outfitted with two bunk beds and a worn dresser, moonlight shining softly in through a window on the far side. Kai was next to him, nestled by the wall, and Taehyun and Yeonjun were sharing the lower bunk of the other bed. Beomgyu panicked for a moment before he caught sight of Soobin tucked under a heap of blankets on a cot by the door.

His members were out cold, silent in sleep, except Soobin, who snuffled a bit with every breath. 

_Don’t panic, think rationally,_ Yeonjun would tell him if he was _awake_ , but how could he _not panic_ when he had no idea where they were, or how they had gotten here, or whose house this was, and most alarming of all, no idea who the random kid was, standing in the dim light of the doorway, staring at them. 

“What’s going on?” Beomgyu tried to say, but it came out as a croak, voice cracked and hoarse.

The boy’s eyes widened and he stepped backwards into the hall, looking just a few seconds away from bolting. 

Oh. _Oh no._ Bunch of beds crammed into one room, a kid they didn’t know, a place he didn’t recognize. _Shit… were they… back in the system?_

He managed to extract himself from the covers without waking Kai, his hands strangely clumsy with the fabric, and stood on shaky legs.

His last memories were a blurry haze of coughing, sleeping, and, when he had enough energy to think coherently, incessant worrying. _How long it had been since he’d gotten sick?_

“Where are we?” he whispered to the kid, already stumbling to the window, trying to get a view of the city beyond.

He didn’t recognize the street below them, but the skyscrapers of the city center were visible off to the left, which meant they must be somewhere on the outskirts of the south side, a few blocks before it bled into the west side. The window itself didn’t have bars or a grate, that was good, and it was large enough that even a kid of Soobin’s height could still slip out. 

The boy was still watching him, silent and frozen, which didn’t bode well for this place. They needed to get out of here quickly then, before morning could come and social services could split them all up. Beomgyu himself had never experienced the system but Yeonjun and Kai had, and Soobin had been screwed over by it as well. None of them would benefit by staying here, _especially_ if social services found out about their powers.

He flicked the lock on the window experimentally and slid it open, a split second later remembering Kai had told him that sometimes the windows in children's homes had alarms on them.

He froze, holding his breath, but nothing happened. When the silence continued, he stuck his head out, happy to see a fire escape. 

The floor creaked.

“What are you doing?” the kid asked, uncertain, and Beomgyu almost cursed, turning back around.

_What if the kid was a goodie-two-shoes, or one of the guardian’s favorites? Their escape could be over before it even began._

The boy was already inching back into the hall. 

“Wait-” Beomgyu whispered, desperate, but his voice had finally had enough, and he broke into a violent fit of coughing. 

He doubled over, trying to muffle the sound in his sleeves, because whoever ran this place would _not_ be happy to be woken up, and when he glanced up again, eyes watering with the force of his coughs, the boy had disappeared. 

_Shit._

  
  


“What’s up Innie?” Chan asked absentmindedly, as the maknae continued to hover in the doorway of the living room.

He didn’t look up from his laptop, focused on finishing this line of code so he could finally test it and rest, please, _rest_. His head ached from staring at the screen for so long, and he was pretty sure his back would hate him in the morning, but it didn’t matter, because he was _almost done._

He could see the blurry figure shift from one foot to the other in his peripheral, before the boy blurted out, “TXT is trying to escape out of the window.”

Chan didn’t even know he could _move_ that fast on half an hour of sleep. 

He forgot he had on socks until he tried to skid to a stop in the doorway and had to fling out an arm to grab into the doorframe before he slammed into the wall. Recovering, he tugged himself back, stumbled in the room, and froze.

Instead of being confronted with five kids recently recovered from major illness trying to crawl out into an incredibly rusty fire escape, he was met with an entirely different scene: Beomgyu crumbled on the floor next to the window, coughing his lungs out, while Kai patted his back helplessly. 

“Can’t-” the teen managed to choke out between coughs, tugging on Kai’s sleeve. “Can’t breathe-”

Beomgyu’s face was flushing red as he clutched at his chest. Kai turned wide, helpless eyes to Chan, who scrambled to reorient himself to the new situation. 

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay.” he said, moving closer until Beomgyu tensed. He rocked back a step and crouched. “Panicking will just make it worse. Let your lungs relax. Deep breaths, deep breaths. You’re okay.” 

For a long minute, there wasn’t any change, Beomgyu’s face shifting from flushed to pale as he struggled to breathe, but finally, _finally_ , the seconds between his coughs lengthened, and he was able to take in desperate, shaky breaths between each one until they finally died out altogether.

He slumped back against Kai, eyes fluttering closed. Chan let out a silent breath of relief. His adrenaline began to fade. 

By some miracle, Taehyun and Yeonjun, sharing what was usually Hyunjin’s bunk, hadn’t woken up in the commotion, but by the door, Soobin was beginning to stir.

“You okay?” Chan asked Beomgyu quietly, knowing that a flood of questions was probably on the horizon.

The teen seemed to register his identity for the first time, mouth dropping open. 

“ _Bang Chan?_ ” he exclaimed so loudly that Chan winced. 

“Beomgyunnie?” Soobin mumbled, pushing himself up on one elbow and frowning with bleary eyes at his surroundings. 

Because it was just Chan's luck, Yeonjun also stirred at the noise, blinking up at the bunk above him for a moment before he sat up, too quickly, given the way his hand shot out to steady himself against the wall. 

“What-” Soobin mumbled, and Chan could see the exact moment he finally registered the strange room, panic flooding into his face.

The teen scrambled out of the blankets, movements heavy with exhaustion, and actually shoved to his feet, which was a _monumentally terrible idea considering he had been unconscious with fever the past several days._

Chan barely managed to snag his arm before the young leader swayed far enough to meet the floor. 

“You’re safe here, I promise." he said, tone carefully calm. "This is our apartment. The Strays. Bangtan brought you here so you could recover safely.”

“ _Bangtan_?” Beomgyu choked out. 

Soobin shoved off Chan’s hand, grabbing the side of the dresser to steady himself instead. 

“What do you mean, brought us here?” he snapped.

Chan took a step back, raising his hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture, and tried to think of the simplest way to explain this so they could sort it all out quickly and get back to resting before they ended up sick again. 

“You were all pretty sick, you had pneumonia. Jin healed you and they brought you here so you wouldn’t relapse. You’re all safe.”

Yeonjun shook his head, frowning. “I don’t understand- how- _Jin?_ ”

Chan shifted, gave an awkward laugh. “Yeah, Suga and Jimin weren’t about to turn in two kids after they knew they were only robbing the pharmacy for their sick hyungs. They’re vigilantes, but they do have compassion. They know what it's like.”

Soobin, Yeonjun, and Beomgyu’s eyes all flew to Kai, who was meticulously studying the floor, ears beginning to flush. 

“Robbery the _pharmacy?”_

Kai winced, shrinking a little further into himself, and Chan realized he had made a mistake. 

_Backtrack, quick, backtrack._ “Uh, maybe you should all focus on feeling better, yeah?”

“You two tried to _rob a pharmacy?”_

Soobin looked absolutely incredulous, shocked and angry and afraid all rolled into one, and Chan opened his mouth, eager to defuse the situation before it could explode-

“We would have been fine if Bangtan hadn’t shown up.” Kai told them, a bit of defensiveness seeping into his voice. 

And Chan barely withheld a wince, seeing any chance of this conversation being put off until morning fly out the window.

“Bangtan _caught you?”_

  
  


Soobin was really hoping this was some elaborate fever dream.

His idiot members had robbed a _house_ and gotten caught by vigilantes, and not just any vigilantes, but the _Bangtan Boys_ themselves, had almost gone to prison, and then, after barely escaping that fate, had turned around and decided to rob a _pharmacy_ , only to get caught by the _same vigilantes._

Kai had been avoiding his gaze for the entire retelling of the past few days, mumbling so quietly Soobin could barely hear as if that would lessen the weight of his story.

“-and they said we could either go to the police or work with them, so, um... we didn’t have a choice, we took them to the-” Kai’s eyes darted to Chan. “- our place and-”

Beomgyu broke into another fit of coughing at those words. 

“You took them to our _home_?” Soobin said shrilly, hand dropping briefly away from the dresser in shock before the world tilted a bit and he remembered he _needed it to stay standing._ “Why would you do that?!” 

Kai still wouldn't look at him, glancing concernedly through his bangs at Beomgyu instead. The teen gave a particularly violent cough and the bedside lamp on the dresser floated up a few feet before it dropped.

Chan threw himself forward, grabbing it before it could shatter against the floor.

"Ah, phew." The man set it carefully back on the dresser, breathing a sigh of relief. "That could have been bad. This is Seungmin's second favorite lamp." 

When he turned back around, the whole room was frozen, staring at him with pale, panicked faces. 

Soobin’s brain scrambled for any explanation that wasn’t the obvious, but his thoughts were too frenzied to make any sort of sense, and all he could think was _Chan knows, Chan knows, Chan knows and no one is supposed to know- ever-_

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. I already knew.” the leader said soothingly, and Soobin gaped. “It’s okay. I’m not going to tell anyone.”

_Wait… what?_

Chan eyes drifted to Soobin’s, almost as if he could sense the other leader’s panic. “It’s all right, really. I’m not going to tell anyone. You guys are safe here.”

His words had the opposite of the intended effect, instead putting Soobin _more_ on edge. _Why would they be safe here? With this group they barely knew, who apparently knew their secret?_

Yeonjun jerked his head at the doorway. “What about him?” 

Chan turned and didn’t quite hide his grimace. For the first time, Soobin realized there was a kid swamped in an oversized hoodie standing there, watching them with wide eyes. 

“It’s okay, Jeongin won’t say anything, will you?” Chan gave the kid an encouraging smile.

The boy seemed to remember himself, shaking his head quickly. 

Soobin narrowed his eyes, studying the newcomer. He was fairly certain he hadn’t met the teen, who looked about Beomgyu’s age. The Strays didn’t wander into the east side often, and if they did, it was usually just Chan accompanied by Minho or Changbin. Soobin had spotted them once or twice in other parts of town with some younger kids, but he’d always avoided them, eager to evade unwanted interactions. 

“I’m sorry-” Beomgyu burst out, breathing finally under control again. His gaze flickered between Chan and Jeongin for a moment, but ultimately settled on Kai. “You two robbed a _pharmacy?_ Alone?”

The last lump under the covers shifted and Taehyun sat up, blinking blearily at them all. “What’s going on?”

_That's what they'd all like to know._

Kai ducked his a head a little further under the weight of their stares, picking at one of the floorboards.

“I’ll uh, I’ll just… um. Let you guys work this out. Yeah.” Chan said awkwardly, finally, blessedly taking his leave, and closing the door behind him. 

Taehyun seemed to be growing more awake by the second, slowly picking up on the stifling tension in the room, the maknae who seemed to be trying to become one with the wall, the grim faces of the hyungs.

“What’s going on?” he asked again, more hesitant this time. 

“Which one of you,” Yeonjun said, and his voice was deadly calm, “wants to explain what the hell Bang Chan was talking about?”

  
  
* * *  
  


“I can’t believe this.”

Lucas flung himself into an empty bunk, narrowly avoiding cracking his head into the wall. Mark and Chenle, playing a card game on the top bunk across the room, both winced, but the teen didn’t even seem to notice the close call, too busy sighing dramatically. Renjun didn't know if it would have mattered anyway, as he often found himself wondering if his members had any brain cells to lose in the first place. He'd watched Taeyong search for his phone for a full half-hour yesterday, only for the leader to pull it out his _own_ pocket and try to call himself, frustrated when he repeatedly got the busy tone.

 _Yes, Renjun had realized as soon as Taeyong had pulled out his phone. No, Renjun hadn't told him, the whole situation was comedic_ gold _._

“This is so unfair.”

“There are people trying to sleep, you know.” Chenle informed him.

Donghyuck shut the door behind him and Renjun, glancing unimpressed at two people in question.

There was almost always someone trying to sleep any given time, usually a side effect of either staying up too late playing video games or taking the night security shift.

Today it was Jisung, asleep on Chenle's lower bunk instead of his own above it, a switch which was a weekly occurrence at this point, as the maknae claimed climbing the ladder took too much effort. Maybe it was a side effect from sleeping on the floor for so long pre-NCT. Renjun for one did not miss those days. 

Jaehyun was a little bit more of a surprise, as he was currently crashed on Jeno's bed, but it wasn't usual for one of the hyungs to commander an empty bed during the day if they were too tired to climb the stairs to the third level where most of the older members lived. Jaehyun hadn't even gotten under the covers, still bundled in his winter coat. Renjun spared a moment to wonder how the man wasn't sweltering. Maybe he _was_ but he was just too tired to care.

Renjun wasn't sure why they even bothered to have assigned bunks at this point; they didn't sleep in them half the time anyway.

Donghyuck shrugged, merciless. “It’s four PM. It’s their own fault.”

“And this is _important_.” Lucas chimed in.

Dongyoung sighed. “Is this about the mango pops again?” 

He didn't look away from where he was sifting through the closet, shoving a handful hangars to the side with a faint screech of metal.

" _Yes_." Lucas paused, rolled into his side. "Wait, how did you know hyung?”

"Because that's all you guys have been talking about for two _days_."

Renjun flopped cross-legged on the soft rug, annoyance pushing at his chest at the reminder.

“I don’t know why Taeyong thinks we can’t handle ourselves, we managed just fine before we joined.” he grumbled. They weren’t _children._

“Well, EXO didn’t have any reason to come after you guys then, did they?” Dongyoung said.

Donghyuck dropped to sit next Renjun, huffing. “Hey, we had Mark, thank you very much.”

“And how well did that go for you?” 

Donghyuck shot Dongyoung a scathing look, jerking his head at where Mark was picking at Chenle’s blankets, eyes cast downward. The hyung stilled, looking a little guilty. 

“I could take them.” Renjun announced, more to move the conversation onward for Mark's sake than an actual active desire to take on the most powerful group in the city. _Not that he'd hesitate if it came down to it._

Jaehyun gave an exasperated sigh, not even bothering to open his eyes. “Renjun, no.”

Renjun made a face at him since Jaehyun couldn’t see it, but unfortunately his other hyung turned around at the wrong time. 

“You don't get it; they’re not like NCT.” Dongyoung said. He abandoned sifting through the sweaters so he could fix them with a serious look. “They don’t care about anyone in this city, including each other. They only care about the money. You don’t want to end up with them.”

“I heard they left their maknae bleeding out on the sidewalk once.” Chenle whispered. “Said if he couldn’t rescue himself, he wasn’t good enough to be in the group.”

Renjun tried to imagine it, but honestly couldn’t grasp Taeyong or Kun or Johnny or Mark walking away if one of them were hurt. It just went against everything he knew of them, of _leadership._

“That’s… Did anyone help?” he asked, trying not to show how disturbing the idea was. 

“Sehun stabbed the first person who tried in the leg.” Jaehyun said, pushing himself upright, seeming to give up on sleep. “Dragged himself up from the ground and limped away, dripping blood everywhere.”

Renjun tried not to gape, but Donghyuck caught his expression anyway.

“Don't look so surprised," he muttered. "We already knew EXO's heartless.”

Mark slipped off of the bed and disappeared out the door.

 _“Donghyuck.”_ Jaehyun said tiredly.

The teen just gave a tight shrug. “What? Sue me for telling the truth.” 

Renjun’s eyes drifted to the door. He didn’t know the details of two days Mark had spent captured by EXO, the teen had never spoken of it after the day he came back, and the older members had made it clear not to press him about it. But they’d all seen the faded patch of red that had appeared on the back of his hand, the jumpiness that came into his movements if the gang was ever reported nearby, the nights when he’d wake up with a gasp and disappear to Jaehyun or Yuta’s bunks. The strange, indecipherable look Mark got sometimes when they would bad-mouth EXO.

“Well, I still want mango pops.” Lucas muttered. 

Dongyoung huffed and threw a shoe at him.

The teen barely rolled to the left in time to avoid it, yelping. “Hyung!” 

“All you have to do is wait for some hyungs to be free to go with you, stop complaining. Mark and Yangyang aren’t even allowed to leave.”

“But that’ll take so looonnngggg!”

Lucas didn’t look up in time to dodge the second shoe, or the third. He let out a shout as a sneaker hit him in the chest, and flung a pillow back, socking Dongyoung in the face. They all froze as the pillow slid slowly off Dongyoung's head and fell to the floor with a thump.

The man leveled a finger at Lucas. "You just made a big mistake."

A barrage of shoes in all shapes and sizes came flying and Lucas wisely utilized the other pillow for cover, shouting for mercy.

Chenle wrinkled his nose at the mess. “I’m gonna tell Jaemin you’re the one who got his bed all muddy.”

Dongyoung hefted another shoe, shifting targets. “Don’t you dare.” he warned. 

Chenle ducked behind his blanket with a squeal, while Lucas yelled that they should form an alliance against their hyung. Renjun tried to calculate the closest way out of the line of fire as Donghyuck egged them on. 

The lump on the far bunk stirred, grumbling, and a head poked out of the blankets.

“Can you all be quiet?”

Their maknae’s face was flushed, and he squinted angrily at the light as if it hurt. 

“It’s too early.” He collapsed back down into his pillow, and rolled to face the wall.

“It’s four in the afternoon." Dongyoung said with a huff of laugh.

But he abandoned the fight, tossing the shoe back in the closet, and returned to trying to shove far too many sweaters into a shelf that was already too small for half their number. Chenle and Lucas relaxed, dropping their own ammunition, and Donghyuck looked vaguely disappointed. 

Jisung’s response was lost in the tangle of blankets. He seemed to have fallen asleep again already. 

Donghyuck’s hyung-sense, as Mark called it, must have been tingling because he climbed to his feet and plopped into Jisung’s bed. 

“Aish, are you still in your pajamas? Have you been asleep this whole time?”

He pulled on the boy's arm until Jisung finally rolled back over, and dragged the pillow away from his face so he could press a hand against the maknae's forehead.

“You're a little warm.”

Jisung cracked an eye open to glare. “My head hurts. I just want to sleep.”

But by this time, Jaehyun and Dongyoung's hyung instincts had activated as well, both crowding next to Donghyuck, and there was no escaping it.

“You do look flushed.” Jaehyun said, brushing Jisung’s bangs back in a parental move that had the kid making a face and batting his hand away. “Is it just your head that hurts?”

“My body aches too.” he grumbled. "Leave me alone."

“You should go see Taeil just in case.” Dongyoung said. “The flu’s going around town.”

Donghyuck immediately made a face, scooting a little further away. Renjun was suddenly glad he hadn’t teased the sleeping maknae this morning like he'd thought about doing.

And Jisung must have been feeling pretty bad, because he didn’t even protest as Dongyoung helped him untangle himself from the blankets and slide on his slippers, guiding him out of the room and presumably to the medic.

Jaehyun also stood, grabbing his own slippers as well as Mark's and stretching. “I’m going make sure Mark is all right.”

The younger teens snickered as his back popped, but he valiantly ignored them, finishing his stretch and raising his eyebrows. 

“Do I have your word that none of you are going to try to sneak out for dumb reasons?”

“Yes, grandpa.” Renjun grumbled, and the light kick that Jaehyun aimed at him was overshadowed by that fact that his knee popped, leaving the other cackling.

“You’ll understand when you’re my age.” Jaehyun said, like they weren’t a mere three years apart, and escaped the room before his bones could betray him further. 

An intake of breath and then Lucas huffed another long sigh, impressive in volume and the sheer amount of time it lasted. Renjun could understand the sentiment. 

“Soo… now that they're gone,” Donghyuck said, and the mischievous note in his voice spoke of trouble already. “Do you guys think the convenience store on West 5th still carries mango pops? We could probably make it there and back in twenty minutes flat.”

Chenle's brow furrowed. “We agreed not to sneak out.”

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows and gave a slow grin. “Weren’t you listening? We agreed not to sneak out for _dumb_ reasons. And mango pops are pretty important if you ask me."

  
  


“I don’t know if this is a good idea.” Hendery whispered. 

All he'd wanted to do was wash his face, but instead he’d stumbled upon Donghyuck, Lucas, and Renjun halfway out the third-story bathroom window, and somehow they’d managed to convince him to join them on their _very_ against-the-rules quest for mango pops. Mostly by telling him they were going to do it whether he came or not, but if he went with them, _he could help keep them hidden and safe, right?_

And Donghyuck, Lucas, and Renjun loose in the city by themselves? Hendery wasn’t sure the place could survive it. Never-mind the fact that he _had_ been craving those pops recently. 

And so he found himself pressed up against the side of the warehouse, peering out across the wide dirt lot. They just had to get across here and over the fence, Lucas had assured them, and they’d be home free. The security measures on this side of the warehouse were the weakest, so as long as they timed it right, they’d be fine. 

“Now!” Lucas hissed, and they set off at a brisk walk across the dim lot, not a run, because quick movement was more likely to flag the camera's security alerts. Hendery’s heart was already pounding in his chest three steps in, and he had to fight the urge to glance back nervously. 

“We’ll be fine, see?” Donghyuck said, with a little scoff, when they made it halfway across the lot. “Nothing will happen, but if it does, there’s the two of you to protect us.”

Lucas turned to shoot him a confident grin. “They won’t even notice we’re gone.” 

The smile froze on his face and he tripped over his own feet, gaze shifting beyond Hendery.

“You guys are idiots, you know that?”

Hendery couldn’t help jumping at the voice emanating from what he could have _sworn_ were empty shadows, spinning around. Renjun screamed, which honestly scared Hendery far more than the original voice, and Donghyuck also let out a startled shout.

In two seconds, the four of them were surrounded by a deep fog, unable to see even a few yards in any direction.

“Hendery!” a voice shouted, and he shifted a little closer to Lucas, holding his breath.

The fog thickened further.

“Let’s make a break for it.” Lucas whispered, waving them desperately to the left.

Donghyuck shook his head, jabbing a finger to the right, and the three of them descended into a flurry of hand movements, arguing over which way to run.

“I know you’re in there!”

And Hendery _finally_ recognized the voice. He let out a breath of relief, flushing a bit as embarrassment set in. He should dispel the fog now, he _should,_ but that would mean they would have to face the music. Which the others were clearly not keen to do.

“Let’s go.” Renjun hissed, grabbing his arm and dragging him backwards.

They turned and came face to face with Ten not two feet away, almost otherworldly half hidden in the fog. Donghyuck stumbled back, cursing.

Ten just raised an eyebrow. “Going somewhere?”

"... No?" 

“Oh hyung!” Lucas said brightly, beaming suddenly. “You out for a quick walk too? We’re just getting some fresh air.”

“With the reusable shopping bags?”

Renjun shoved them behind his back. 

“They… needed to be aired out.” Lucas offered. “Which they are now! You’re welcome! Why don’t we head back inside now, watch a movie or something-”

Ten just rolled his eyes and shooed them forward. It only took a few steps before they were out of the fog completely, much to Renjun and Lucas' chagrin. Ten nudged Hendery as he passed by, and the teen remembered to let go, the rest of the mist quickly evaporating. 

Johnny and Kun were waiting there, arms crossed. 

“Oh hey hyung.” Donghyuck said, clearly trying for casual. 

The silence dragged on as Johnny just stared at them. Hendery shifted, growing more and more uncomfortable.

Then the man turned on one heel and stalked back towards the warehouse, and Kun motioned for them to follow, looking so disappointed that guilt settled heavy in Hendery's stomach.

Chenle was hovering by the entrance of the garage, face pale as Johnny came to a stop inside, spinning around again. 

“Imagine my surprise when I went to see if you guys wanted pizza and found Chenle, alone, looking incredibly guilty.”

The boy in question flushed, eyes dropping to his feet. His fingers were fidgeting desperately with his coat sleeves. Hendery couldn't even bring himself to be mad at him. 

Kun murmured something too quiet for Hendery to hear, and Johnny's expression softened for a moment.

“Go join the others for dinner, Chenle, it’s okay.”

“I convinced them to go.” the boy blurted out desperately, looking back and forth between them all. “I really wanted mango pops, and so I got them to go, it's my fault. But it was dumb, don’t be mad, please.”

Everyone in the room knew it was a lie. 

“Chenle.” Johnny said, and his voice was even softer now as he consciously seemed to put his anger aside for the moment. “We’re just going to talk about making wise choices, okay? That’s all.” 

Chenle’s eyes darted between them again, and Hendery felt the familiar brief flash of anger at whoever had made their almost-maknae think this way. 

“We’ll be fine.” Donghyuck piped up, and sent him a small smile, utterly relaxed. “I once crashed hyungs car and I just got two months of cleaning duty and had to help Taeil reorganize the infirmary.”

“Should have been three.” Johnny muttered. “It was totaled."

“See? We’ll be fine, promise.” 

He reached out to ruffle the boy's hair and they all carefully didn’t react when Chenle didn’t quite hold in his flinch. The boy ducked his head, flushing a bit, and made his way to the door, clearly meandering as much as possible, sneaking worried glances back.

They waited in silence until the door clicked closed. Johnny opened his mouth, turning back to the others, but Kun held up a hand.

“Go eat, Chenle.” he called.

There was some shuffling and a vaguely apologetic murmur. After a long moment, Kun nodded at Johnny.

“At least the four of you did something right, leaving him here.” Johnny said, a bit of steel coming back into his voice.

“We wouldn’t take a _kid_ out there with EXO on the hunt.” Lucas scoffed. 

“You _are_ kids.” 

“We’re seventeen, hyung, not children.” Donghyuck shot back. “We can handle ourselves.”

“First of all, you and Renjun are still _sixteen_ , and second of all, I hate to break this to you, but _no you cannot._ Not against EXO.”

The door to the garage creaked open again, and he fell silent.

"Chenle-"

But it was Yuta. Their hyung must have already know the situation, because he didn't question why they were standing in the very chilly garage while the others ate dinner. He crossed the wide floor to join them.

“Did Chenle come from here?" he asked. "He looked a little upset.”

Kun shifted, looking longingly at the door. 

“Go ahead. I can stay.”

Kun gave Yuta a grateful nod and disappeared into the hall. They waited until the door shut behind him again, just in case.

“Taeyong beat EXO before.” Lucas countered.

“No.” Johnny said, blunt. “We got lucky. Chanyeol and Xiumin were operating without Suho’s approval, so he was able to blackmail them. If it had been EXO united as nine that we’d been facing...” He shook his head.

Renjun’s brow was furrowed. “We have way more members than them though.” 

“It’s not always about numbers.” Yuta spoke up. “They’re ruthless in a fight… and cruel. It doesn’t matter to them how old or young a person is, or if they’re involved in the situation or an innocent bystander. They wouldn't have hesitated tonight, if you'd stood between them and Hendery and Lucas."

He sent the two elder teens a pointed look and Hendery felt vaguely sick, suddenly struck with how badly this night could have gone.

“Chenle said… they left their maknae after he’d been shot.” Renjun hesitated. “That… can’t be true right? What would they gain by not helping their own member?”

Johnny took in a slow breath, eyes fixed on the wall behind them for a moment. Yuta glanced at him, careful. But Johnny refocused, turning to double-checking the door was closed. He looked them over for a moment, and Hendery froze under the brief weight of his stare, grateful when it shifted away again.

“I’m going to tell you all a story.” the man said finally.

Hendery's neck prickled at the undecipherable tone in their hyung's voice.

“Johnny-” Yuta murmured, but the man just shook his head and continued. 

“When I was younger, before I met Taeyong, I had... another group of friends. That's not...”

He shook his head again sharply, brief frustration crossing his face.

“That's not important. One of the friends, I met him on the streets. He was a few years older than me, a jokester, a lot like Lucas actually.” He gave the boy brief, fleeting look. “He could always cheer up kids when they were down. Saved me from a pinch with the police more than once. Stayed... when everyone else left. But… he had powers.”

Hendery let in little intake of breath. _He was beginning to think this story wouldn’t end well. T_ hey never seemed to, not when powers were involved.

“He didn’t flaunt them, used them to help keep the can fires alight, light a cig for those who didn’t have a match, keep the kids from freezing to death.” Johnny gave a little bitter huff. “But even with all his attempts to stay low, he caught the attention of the wrong people.”

“EXO?” Hendery murmured despite himself.

“EXO.” Johnny confirmed. “They came for him one day. Dragged him away. I didn’t see him for months.” He took in another breath, let it out. “And when I finally did…”

His fingers flexed and then he reached up and tugged down his shirt so they could see the scar stretched over his sternum.

 _Oh._ That wasn’t a graze, from some passing accident or a case of mistaken identity. Hendery brought wide-eyes up to meet Johnny’s own.

That was a shot from a close proximity meant for the heart. 

“I trusted him with my life.” Johnny said, like the words tasted bitter in mouth now. “Considered him family. And... I know he considered me the same. That’s probably why I was the test.”

“...The test?” Renjun asked, sounding like he didn’t want the answer. 

“The final test to be a full member of EXO.” Yuta said, when Johnny didn't speak up. “They can’t have any attachments. So they ordered him to kill his best friend.”

Hendery's mouth was dry. “ _Hyung_.” 

Johnny shook his head sharply, dismissing their shock and pity. “I’m telling you this because do you want that to be you? Looking down the barrel of a gun at Jisung, or Chenle, or Yangyang?”

“They’d have to kill me first.” Donghyuck bit out, eyes fiery.

Johnny met his eyes, grim. “That’s what I would have said about Chanyeol. Until he pulled the trigger.”

  
  
  


*** * ***

“What the _hell_ were you two thinking?” 

“It worked out, didn’t it?” Kai said defensively. 

“Worked out as in you got _caught?_ By _Bangtan?”_ Soobin shut his eyes, trying to reign in his anger. _Did they not understand the situation they were in now, how terribly this whole thing could have ended- could_ still _end??!!_

“Don’t blame Kai,” Taehyun said, “It was _my_ idea-”

“No, that’s no fair, I agreed to it-”

“Both of us, stop it! Have you lost your _minds?”_ Yeonjun snapped. They all quieted under the strength of his glare. “ _Robbery?”_

He turned his gaze to Beomgyu, who winced, but didn’t back down. “We didn’t have a choice hyung, you both were so sick-”

“Then you should have left us at the nearest police station and not risked yourselves!”

“Hyung, we’d _never_.” Taehyun said with surprising vehemence, leaning to meet the eldest's eyes. “You’re not going back there. _None_ of us are.”

If Soobin had been a little less furious, maybe he would have appreciated Taehyun's sweet determination to keep them safe, _but that wasn't supposed to be the kid's job in the first place._

“I can run away again," he snapped, "but you can’t get out of a _prison sentence.”_

“We didn’t end up in prison, though.” Taehyun said, with a little, tense shrug. “It all worked out.”

“No, you both just got _lucky_.” Soobin bit out harshly, and Taehyun shrank back a little. “Do you want to end up in a superpower prison, no access to your powers? Never to see the light of day again? _What were you thinking?”_

“That you and Beomgyu and Yeonjun were going to die!” Kai burst out with a yell. 

And _oh shit_ , tears were slipping down the maknae's cheeks, dripping off his chin into the blankets. 

Soobin was frozen, eyes wide, for a long moment before he deflated, shoulders slumping as his anger melted away. Yeonjun looked similarly cowed, shock replacing his glare.

“Kai.” Soobin said quietly, but the boy didn’t look up, wiping angrily at his tears. “Hyuka.” he tried again. 

He only got two steps forward before he was forced to stumble back and grab the dresser again before he fell, helpless frustration rising up in his chest.

The door swung quietly open and Chan was there, a stack of cups and a pitcher of water in his hands. He took one look at the situation, and then their leader, and hurried to set down everything. He didn't say a word, just held out an arm, face so frustratingly open and unassuming.

It made Soobin want to scream, people weren't just _like_ that.

But he was willing to put his reservations aside, _temporarily of course_ ,for his crying maknae. He hesitated just a moment more and then reached out and took Chan's arm. The man helped him stumble the dozen steps to the bunk bed, patient even as Soobin nearly tripped for the fifth time, and then he disappeared again, giving them their privacy. 

“Hey, hey, hyungs sorry.” Soobin whispered, cursing his weak lungs for being so out of breath from just a short walk.

Even his arms were trembling as he reached out to wrap his arms around the youngest. “I didn’t mean to yell, it’s just… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to you guys.”

“Neither would we.” Taehyun said quietly and _oh._

Soobin wrapped his arms a little tighter around Kai and scooted over to make room as the others came to join them. Taehyun attached himself to Soobin’s other side like a limpet and Yeonjun leaned up against the wall beside him, their arms pressed together. Beomgyu slumped against Yeonjun’s other shoulder and Soobin reached out to squeeze his hand. 

“You’re right.” Yeonjun said quietly. “I’m sorry. You did what you had to do.”

“It’s not like we _wanted_ to commit robbery.” Kai said, and his voice was still wet and Soobin didn’t want to fight any longer, even if he wished they’d taken a million other paths than the one they did. 

“I know. I’m sorry too.” he said instead and made sure to meet Taehyun and Beomgyu’s eyes as well, trying to get his sincerity across. “You did it for hyungs. Thank you for looking out for us.”

“Everything turned out alright anyway, in the end.” Beomgyu said, and Soobin had to bite his tongue because they had almost ended up in prison multiple times and now Bangtan _and_ the Strays and _who knew all who else_ knew about their powers and he wanted to say that _everything had turned out alright?_

“Soobin.” Yeonjun murmured, and his gaze was knowing when Soobin met it. “We’re safe for now. We’ll worry about the rest when we have to.”

Except Soobin wasn’t sure that was true, not when he didn’t know what the Strays wanted from them, because Chan _knew_ , _how did Chan know? And maybe that was the whole reason they were here._

But he forced himself to nod, aware of the exhausted maknae line already falling asleep around him. As much as he wanted to be _not here_ , they needed all their rest, given what Kai and Taehyun had said about how sick they’d been. And what could they do at this point anyway? Go back out into the cold and trudge halfway across to the city to the freight car? Soobin didn't think his legs would even be able to carry him out of this _room._

“We’ll worry about the rest when we have to.” Yeonjun repeated, even quieter. “Go to sleep Soobinnie. We both know I’ll wake up the moment anything walks in the door. 

And he would, Soobin knew, the eldest far too used to watching out for them all that his body would wake him up automatically if anyone got close. So Soobin let his eyes slip closed and pushed away all the uncertainties of what would come tomorrow, focusing instead on the four warm presences around him and how weirdly comfortable this mattress was (seriously, _wow)._

He was half asleep when the door creaked open and was resigning himself to having to get up again when Yeonjun rested his hand on Soobin's wrist, fingers lightly tapping twice. Soobin got the message and didn’t move even as footsteps came into the room.

“I brought some sna-” the Stray's leader cut off abruptly.

There was some hasty whispering, and then the two sets of footsteps continued into the room, now painstakingly slow and careful against the creaky hardwood. They crossed to the dresser and there was some dull clinks as something was set something down, before the steps crept back into the hall. 

There was a brief hesitant silence and then-

“Goodnight... well, morning.” the kid whispered, earnest. "Sleep well."

Soobin carefully cracked an eye open to see Chan watching Jeongin fondly. The leader ruffled his hair, and the boy leaned into his side for a moment before ambling off down the hall. Chan pulled the door shut, and Soobin almost missed his words, hushed even even in the silence.

"Sleep well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me (to me), boa constrictor finally captured in one hand, and a tire pump for my unicycle in the other, staring at my draft: it's not about perfection, it's been MONTHS YOU'VE EDITED THE ENTIRE CHAPTER LIKE NINE TIMES JUST POST IT PLEASE-
> 
> 💛💛💛Love you all, hope you enjoyed this chapter!!!
> 
> P.S. PETA please don't come for me, I would never actually fight a snake (unless it threw hands with me first) (wait snakes don't have hands) 
> 
> Okay, I'll go sleep now, sleep well guys!! Even if it's two in the afternoon. This is a threat.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol is consumed in this chapter by legal adults, safely, in moderation

“Are you sure you haven’t heard anything? Not even a rumor?”

Youngjae fought back a wince at the desperation bleeding through their leader's voice. _So much for keeping things on the down-low._

Jinyoung probably should have made the call instead, given whatever miracle allowed him remain level-headed throughout this whole thing, but _o_ _h well, too late now._

Youngjae watched as Jaebeom closed his eyes for a short moment, and wondered briefly what was being said on the other end of the line.

“I know, I know..." the leader said, quieter this time. "Okay... thanks Amber.”

Jaebeom hung up, sliding the phone back into his pocket, and looked so intensely at the wall, fists clenching, that Jinyoung immediately moved, handing him a fresh cup of coffee. The man blinked, took a sip automatically, and seemed to center again.

Honestly, Youngjae counted them lucky that there wasn't another hole in the wall of this dump yet. _Seriously, why hadn't they replaced this couch by now? It'd taken him two hours of endless fidgeting to finally realize there just wasn't a way to sit comfortably; it was too uneven._

“So?” Bambam asked impatiently from his place leaned up against the wall. 

“She hasn’t heard anything." Jaebeom said, and the whole room slumped at the news. "Said she wouldn’t be surprised if he’s staying low to keep any attention from being drawn to his connections. Also… that he might be an idiot sometimes, but he can take care of himself.”

Youngjae stared down at the uneven grain of the wooden tabletop, letting out a sharp breath, and tried to keep the frustration rising in him in check. Amber had been their last hope. If Jackson had contacted _anyone_ , she would have heard about it. Yugyeom, who'd been pacing for the entirety of the phone call, dropped into the kitchen chair next to him, expression completely drained.

_About time too, Youngjae had been getting dizzy._

“Have you tried Eric?” Mark asked, somehow not showing a hint of discomfort despite his place perched on the death couch. 

_Maybe the couch just hated Youngjae, then. That would be his luck._

“Amber said he’s off the grid for the time being. Something about an undercover mission.”

“I thought that was like six months ago?”

“Apparently it’s still going on.”

“We sure he’s not just dead?” Youngjae muttered. 

Jinyoung shot him a look, but he just gave a tight shrug. “What?”

“He’s not dead,” Jaebeom spoke up, and he probably would have been disapproving too if he wasn't so distracted. “He hasn’t missed a check-in yet.”

“What about Jooheon?” Bambam demanded, shoving off the wall. 

“Hasn’t heard from him either.”

“Henry?”

"Nothing."

"Okay, did you try Youngji-"

"She's not even on this _continent_."

But Bambam only faltered for a brief second before he pushed onwards. "Okay, well-well- what about-"

"Bam." Mark said quietly, and his gaze held something like pity.

The answer to whoever he suggested next was already clear to all of them. It should have been from the moment GOT7 themselves had gotten radio silence. Jackson hadn't contacted anyone.

Youngjae stood, grabbing his coat off the back of his chair.

His mutter was lost in the sudden weighted silence that had fallen over the room. _“I’ll be back.”_

He slipped out the back door of the apartment building and into the alleyway. 

The sun would rise soon, hazy glimmers just starting to reflect off some of the skyscrapers' highest windows, but the streets were still dim. 

He fumbled to get a cigarette out of the pack with tired fingers, before patting down his jacket and realizing he didn’t have a lighter. _Right._ Jackson had been stealing them for months now, slipping them from his pocket whenever he was least expecting it, trying to get him to cut back on the habit. 

_Idiot._ Youngjae was going to charge the loss of twelve lighters to Jackson’s account when the member got back-

_… when he got back._

_If_ he got back. 

Even if Jackson had by some miracle escaped the warehouse, which all of his members seemed determined to believe… EXO wasn’t known for giving up once they’d set their sights on something. They wouldn’t stop until they had him… or until-

Youngjae kicked viciously at a piece of gravel and was rewarded with it clanging off one of the trash cans. It wasn’t enough, he kicked at another, and another- _why hadn't Jackson just told them-_

“Hey.”

Youngjae turned, glaring. 

There was a slip of a kid perched in the shadows of the fire escape, eyeing him. He shifted a bit under Youngjae’s glare, but, to his credit, didn’t leave.

“You GOT7?”

Youngjae straightened immediately and scanned the dim alleyway. His hand came to rest closer to the gun hidden in his jacket.

“Who’s asking?” 

“I’ve got a note. For GOT7.”

Youngjae let himself relax, walking a few steps closer.

“Who's it from?”

The kid narrowed his eyes. “It’s for GOT7’s eyes only.”

“Okay, great, I’m GOT7.” Youngjae said impatiently, holding out a hand.

“Anyone would say that.” the kid retorted. “How do I know?”

“You don’t recognize me?”

The kid shook his head, raking his eyes up and down and giving a bit of a scoff, and Youngjae felt his frustration flare.

“I’m telling you I'm GOT7. What more do you want, a gang ID with GOT7 spelled out across the top?”

The kid bristled, but Youngjae could see the way his eyes darted to the roof briefly, growing unease clear.

“Well, I’m telling _you_ ," he shot back, "I’m not handing this to anyone who can’t prove who they are.”

He shifted to climb further up the fire escape, and Youngjae cursed, moving forward. “Kid-”

Two other teens immediately materialized on the edge of the rooftop.

“Don’t.” one warned, and had the steel in his voice that suggested he could back up this threat.

If there was anything Youngjae knew, it was that street kids could be vicious if they thought you’d slighted one of their own, unarmed or not. _He’d been one of them after all._

So he took a step back, raising his hands, and focused on sounding _calm._

“I don't want to fight." he said evenly. "I just want the note meant for us, that’s all-”

“Take another step back then.” the older teen snapped, giving a sharp gesture of _back up_. 

Youngjae shot him a glare, but complied. 

The teen jerked his head at the kid, calling. “Come on. Quick.”

Youngjae couldn't stop himself from moving forward again, snapping out a sharp, “Hey! You’re not leaving with that note!”

The kid froze, deer in the headlights, his foot a few inches from the next flight of stairs on the fire escape.

A brief surprised silence, broken by a furious yell from the roof.

"Is that a _threat_?” the older teen's expression was dark, but unyielding, and Youngjae didn't manage to hold back his disbelieving huff at this _child_ threatening a _gang member_ , an action which unfortunately only served to make the teen angrier.

"You just made a _mistake_ -" the teen hissed, and vaulted over the edge of the roof, his boots hitting the the top of the fire escape with a heavy clatter.

 _Ah damn it, this was veering_ _quickly_ _out of control-_

The back door rattled and swung open, a rectangle of orange light spilling out into the stained pavement.

“Youngjae, are you done brooding now, we need to head over to 47-”

Bambam trailed off, stepped full into the alleyway, and peered up at the kid on the fire escape. Yugyeom stood in the doorway behind him, glancing between them all.

“Oh hey, Daehwi.” Bambam said finally.

The kid relaxed, gave a little wave and a wide smile. “Hi Bambam.”

_What the hell._

Youngjae threw his hands in the air, giving up. “You know each other?”

“He’s close with the kids.” Bambam shrugged, nodding to the two on the roof. “Hi Woong. Donghyun. What brings you guys to this part of town?”

“Chan said we could find you here.”

Bambam muttered a half-hearted curse. “So much for our safe houses being a secret then.”

“He said you’d said that, and suggests this is the perfect excuse to move to one that doesn’t have eight obvious sight-lines into the main room.”

_“Of course he did.”_

“And I have to say I agree with him.”

“Of course you do. Traitor.”

“How exactly does Bang Chan know where our safe house is in the first place?” Youngjae hissed.

Bambam waved him off, craning his neck to look up at the kids. “What’s up?”

The older teen, Donghyun, hesitated, glancing at Youngjae again. “This guy with you?”

Youngjae could _hear_ the way Bambam barely choked back a laugh. The Thai man threw an arm over his shoulders before he could protest, not bothering to hide his grin.

“Yeah, he’s with me, it’s alright. AB6IX meet Youngjae, Youngjae meet AB6IX. Was he giving you kids any trouble?”

_Yugyeom was laughing at him behind them, he could feel it._

Youngjae shoved Bambam off, and made a show of dusting off his coat. “If anything, you’re with _me._ And no, I was not.”

“Nothing we can't handle." Woong said nonchalantly, still at the top of the fire escape, and Youngjae grit his teeth to stay quiet. 

_He could handle a few challenging words from a street kid._

"I've got a letter for GOT7." the kid, Daehwi, spoke up, looking a bit more confident now that Bambam was here. "From a Wang Jia Er.”

Youngjae’s head snapped up so quickly that Daehwi rocked back a step. Yugyeom abandoned the doorway, striding over to stand next to his members.

“From Wang Jia Er?” their maknae asked, like he was afraid he’d heard wrong.

_From... Jackson?_

Bambam was already jogging over to the kid, hopping into stack of discarded crates, and reaching up. Daehwi hesitated, sending one last glance at Youngjae and Yugyeom, before he withdrew a folded slip of paper from his pocket and crouched down to hand it through metal bars.

Youngjae didn’t miss the way his member slid a couple bills into Daehwi's hand during the trade and hopped down from the crates before the kid could protest.

“Where did you get it?” Youngjae demanded. “Was it a man, tall, black hair, angular face-”

“No, I got it from another kid.” Daehwi cut him off, already scaling the fire escape.

“And where did _they_ get it from?”

“Another kid. No idea who.” Woong said, most of his attention focused on his member below as he climbed. “And they got it from a different one. It’s been passed around about eight times, following the instructions apparently. No one’s supposed to hold onto it more than a few hours, passing it along, until someone finally tracks you down.”

“That sounds like Jackson.” Yugyeom murmured. 

Youngjae was itching to snatch it from Bambam’s hands and read it right now, but he knew they should wait until the other members were there too.

“Did he say anything?” he asked instead. “Is he all right?”

Woong shrugged, _and Youngjae was guessing he was either the eldest or the leader given how defensive he was of the others._ The teen seemed to catch into his desperation though, eying him a little less combatively. 

“All I heard was that he apparently freaked out the first kid with how serious he was, the rest of them have been passing down how terrifying GOT7’s Jackson is.”

Bambam rolled his eyes, but Youngjae could see the relief in the line of his shoulders. “It’s all an act, he’s like a golden retriever, trust me.”

Daehwi reached the last set of steps and Woong offered a hand, hoisting him the last few feet. He nudged the kid safely back over the edge of the rooftop, rejoining their other member. Daehwi took the opportunity to shoot Bambam a _very_ skeptical look.

"Invite him to game night, you'll see." Bambam told him. 

"Not sure we want to, if he cheats as much as you." Woong said dryly.

Bambam gasped in mock-offense, one hand over his heart. "Hey, _you_ said I should be the banker. I was just doing my job!"

"You were stealing an extra couple hundred dollars every time you passed Go!"

"It didn't say in the rules that I _couldn't._ "

"I think they assumed _no money laundering_ was a _given_." Donghyun scoffed. "I _knew_ you didn't really have the cash for all those properties." 

"It's not _my_ fault none of you noticed-"

"Thank you for delivering the note.” Yugyeom called over Bambam's words, blessedly cutting off the conversation before it could descend any further into chaos. 

Woong gave a single, short nod. Hesitated for a moment. "I hope it works out with your friend." 

"What?" Yugyeom's brow crinkled, but Youngjae just dipped his head in acknowledgement.

_Some things were universal, and concern for a teammate happened to be one of them._

The three AB6IX members were moving away from the edge of the rooftop, their mission now accomplished. 

“Tell Chan we’re not coming over again until he apologizes for saying he likes dogs better than cats.” the kid called back. 

“Yah, I’m not your messenger, just text him!” Bambam shouted up at them.

The eldest gave them a two-fingered salute and they disappeared into the darkness. 

  
  
Jinyoung sighed. "Looks like Amber was right. Should have known he'd do this."

Jaebeom was holding the note in careful hands, reading it over for what must have been the tenth time. Despite his caution, he looked a little like he wanted to crush it. _And_ _Jinyoung really couldn't blame him._

“I don't understand, we have more of a chance together.” Bambam said, his voice sharp. “We could protect him.”

“It’s _Jackson_." Mark said. "He doesn’t want any of us getting hurt.” 

Jinyoung tugged lightly on the leader's hand and Jaebeom finally set the note down on the table. Jinyoung took a moment to skim it again, just to reassure himself it was really there, before sliding it over to Yugyeom, whose eyes had been fixed on it for the past five minutes.

The message was short and to the point, and most critically of all, written in GOT7’s personal code. 

_Safe,_ it read, _but being tracked. Going to lay low until they lose interest. Don’t look for me, I can handle it. I’m Jackson Wang, after all._

Jinyoung had almost laughed the first time he'd read the last part. Jackson seemed to have a knack for that, making them laugh even in the most harrowing situations. _If only he had a knack for not getting in those situations in the first place._

“I can't-" Youngjae cut himself off, sitting back so forcefully that Jinyoung was afraid the ancient chair would break. The man finally let out a hissed breath. "Why didn’t he say anything?” 

“Probably wanted to wrap his head around it first.” Jinyoung said quietly.

 _He couldn’t imagine, thinking you’re unpowered for so long, and then having it come out of the blue, long after the usual cut-off_. He could understand, even in his frustration, why Jackson hadn't told them sooner.

Yugyeom opened his mouth but hesitated, staring down at his hands for a moment.

“What... what do you guys think it is?"

Silence.

_Jinyoung hadn't even... considered that yet, so preoccupied with Jackson's safety._

"Who saw him last?” Bambam spoke up. "Maybe there was something..."

"Mark.” Jinyoung said, drawing all their eyes to the eldest member.

The man shook his head before they could get their hopes up. “I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. He seemed a little distracted, a little more careful, but was cracking jokes as always. I chalked it up to the case.”

Jinyoung closed his eyes and cast his mind back on the past month. "I can’t think of anything that would have been his first flares.”

"Does that even happen with late bloomers?”

He gave a helpless shrug. _They were all aware that this was very much uncharted territory._

“We should ask RM.” Bambam said. He was already tugging his phone out of his pocket.

"No, it’s Jackson's business." Jaebeom said immediately, shaking his head. "We have no right to go spilling his secrets to someone without his permission.”

"What if we just say we need the information for a job?” 

"We can't risk it." Youngjae spoke up. "He'll get suspicious that it's one of us contacting him and not Jackson."

"It probably wouldn't work anyway." Mark added. "RM always sees through people in a second.”

A long moment and then Bambam tossed his phone into the table with a clatter, raising his hands in a conceding gesture. His expression was unreadable, but the frustration was clear in his posture as he dropped into the armchair, away from all of them. 

He wasn't the only one; Youngjae's constant stare was probably intimidating the table, which wasn't even _sentient_ , and Mark's fingers hadn't stopped tapping on his leg since they'd first opened the note. Yugyeom was still poring over the paper in question, as if he could decipher some hidden message from it that none of the rest of them had seen. 

Jaebeom rubbed a hand down his face. There was something close to fiery resignation in his eyes as he met their gazes.

"Jackson’s an adult, if he says he fine, then he’s fine.”

"I don’t like this.” Bambam muttered.

"And you think I do?” their leader snapped. He shut his eyes for a moment, and then continued on, a rigid calm in his voice. “But there’s not much more we can do. Jackson’s made his choice.”

As much as it rankled them all, to have him running around solo when they were a _team,_ Jackson was trying to protect them, _even if he was misguided._

The time they stayed here and brooded over it wouldn't change a thing, except that the rest of them would miss even more responsibilities. Jinyoung doubted Jackson would be able to help them with their jobs from hiding. As cold as it sounded, they were already behind with him down for the count.

Jinyoung let out a slow breath. He mentally forced himself to shake off the frustration.

“Jackson's okay.” he said, trying to break the awful mood that had settled on the room. "That’s more than we knew before. That's what counts.”

“He’s okay.” Yugyeom repeated quieter, finally looking up. He managed a brief, very fleeting grin. 

“And being an idiot.” Bambam mumbled, gaze fixed away from them all.

Jinyoung spared him a glance, but pushed on. “Jackson’s safe for the time being. We’ll have to trust him to take care of himself.”

Jaebeom pushed back his chair and stood, and Jinyoung could _see_ the moment their leader mentally shifted into business mode, putting the matter to the side.

”Jinyoung’s right. Jackson’s fine. We'll keep an eye on the situation, but... if he's got it handled, he's got it handled. In the meantime, we can't afford to wait around; we’ve got work to do.”

They dispersed, grudging nods from everyone but Bambam (to no one's surprise). Jinyoung went to pour himself another cup of too bitter coffee, and ended up being roped into getting everyone else refills too. He didn't realize until nearly an hour later that he'd filled one too many mugs, and the seventh had been sitting there the whole time, getting cold on the counter, waiting for someone who wasn't coming. 

Something in him couldn't bear to throw it out, so he gave it to Bambam instead, who took one sip and sputtered, complaining about the lack of sugar. He didn't pick it up again, and Jinyoung let it stay on the side-table, untouched, even as they left a few hours later.

 _Jackson might be trying to protect them, but as soon as he got back in contact... he and Jinyoung_ _were going to have a_ very _long talk about what it meant to be a team._

* * *

The shadows in the rail yard were deep, hazy with the lingering morning fog.

Jungkook eased around the side of the freight car, careful to keep his steps light on the gravel.

It was quiet, no sign of any other stragglers, but that didn't necessarily mean that things were safe. He'd learned a long time ago not to trust in assurances like that. 

_His hyungs would kill him if they knew he was here alone right now, teleportation powers or not._ He'd realized a couple years ago it wouldn't really matter how old or powerful he got, he'd always be the maknae to be protected in his members' eyes. It was annoying sometimes (like that night he'd thought he'd finally succeeded at sneaking out for a midnight snack run, only to realize Hoseok had been quietly tailing him the whole time), but he didn't _really_ mind it.

"You shouldn't be here alone."

Jungkook nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around. 

Jimin's white-blonde hair shone even in the shadows of the courtyard. He was clutching at his stomach, laughing hard, and Jungkook's shoulders slumped in relief despite himself. He shot his hyung a glare to cover it.

 _Scratch that, he_ did _mind._

"What was that for?" he demanded.

Jimin straightened, still grinning. "Your own fault for sneaking out here."

" _Me?_ You shouldn't be out here either!" 

Jimin's smile faded so quickly that Jungkook felt a brief flash of alarm. He gave a stiff shrug. "It's just-"

There was a muted clank of metal a few cars down and Jimin's eyes went wide. He snagged Jungkook's sleeve and dragged him into the shadows between two of the railcars. The maknae caught another glimpse of white-blonde hair and fumbled to pull Jimin's knitted scarf over his head. His hyung nodded his thanks before they both leaned to peer around the edge. 

A short figure, obscured by a dark hoodie, hands shoved deep in their pockets, slowly emerged out of the morning mist. They came to a stop a few yards away from their freight car, and huffed a long sigh.

At the sound, Jungkook immediately relaxed. A grin worked its way into his lips and before Jimin could saying anything, he closed his eyes, focused on the familiar presence in his head and _pulled-_

A brief rush of gravity and a split second later he was standing right behind the figure.

"Hey hyung!" he said brightly.

Yoongi stumbled away with a shout. His hands ignited as he spun to face Jungkook, and then immediately flickered out again as he recognized the maknae. 

"You little sh-"

Jungkook cackled, the following barrage of curses well worth it in his mind. _They both knew Yoongi didn't mean it anyway._

"What are you doing here?" his hyung demanded, when he'd finally run out of offensive words (which was significantly sooner than Jungkook had expected). "Are you alone?"

Jimin chose that moment to exit his hiding place. "Oh hi Yoongi!" 

The man in question started badly, head whipping over to glare at Jimin.

"Yah you both- Namjoon, what the _hell_ , why didn't you say they were there?"

_Wha- Namjoon?_

Jungkook's heart missed a beat and Jimin let out a yell as the shadows, what he'd thought were _empty shadows,_ shifted, and Namjoon stepped out of the gloom.

The leader gave a shrug, a hint of a smile on his lips. "I thought it would be funny."

Yoongi cursed at him too. 

_How long had their leader even_ been _there?_

"I came with Yoongi." Namjoon said, in answer to Jungkook's unspoken question. "Just paused to reminisce a bit."

"Don't pretend you didn't realize they were here and let it happen." Yoongi snapped.

Their leader just shrugged again, turning his eyes to the sky in a purposefully mysterious move.

"What are you two doing out here alone in the east side?" Yoongi said, turning back to the two, gaze cold with what Jungkook could identify as _worry_ only because he'd known Yoongi for so long. "Not exactly a nice place for a stroll these days."

The maknae shifted, wondering if he could pass it off as having come along with Jimin this whole time.

But Namjoon's glance, even if the man didn't say anything, was enough to have him giving up on that idea. Jungkook let his shoulders slump, gaze drifting to the shadowed freight car again, the barely visible initials scratched into the metal.

"I don't know... I just... needed to see it again."

"Me too." Jimin said quietly, and Jungkook glanced at him, relieved not be the only one. "Seeing TXT's place..."

He might have been embarrassed, if not for the fact that he knew Yoongi and Namjoon already understood. _They'd shown up here too, after all._

There was a sudden creak of metal and they all spun to face the freight car, wary. 

Seokjin, unimpressed, stared down at them from the roof. "Are you guys going to stand there all night or are you coming up?"

It was smaller on the roof than Jungkook remembered, harder for all of them to squish into the tiny maintenance walkway than it was when they were kids. And it was less comfortable, the car a smidge too cold beneath him, the sky just a bit too dark. It was all just a little _unfamiliar,_ the one place that should be _familiar._

"Feels weird to be here without Hoseok and Tae." Jimin said. "Should we-"

There was the soft crunch of footsteps on gravel in the distance and Jimin let his sentence trail off. Jungkook fought the urge to lean over the side- _too risky a move if it ended up being an enemy-_ but Namjoon hadn't moved from his place propped on his elbows, staring at the stars peeking through the dark clouds. 

The footsteps were unhurried, rhythm steady as they wound to the side of the freight car and paused. Jungkook shared a quick look with Jimin and Seokjin, the three of them careful not to move and risk making noise.

But Namjoon still seemed utterly uninterested, and Yoongi was relaxed, eyes half closed.

The ladder creaked. A head poked up over the side. 

Seokjin huffed, posture easing. "Hoseok? How did you know-"

"Tracker in your shoe." the man said cheerfully, and clambered up the rest of the way to join them. 

Jungkook looked at Jimin and Seokjin, who both blinked. Yoongi, for his part, didn't look the least bit surprised. 

"Tracker in _whose_ shoe, Hoseok?"

The man just shot them all a grin. 

_"Tracker in whose shoe?"_ Jimin repeated, a bit more loudly.

Jungkook glanced down at his shoes, but realized immediately he didn't care enough to check right now when it was only a few degrees above freezing. Jimin clearly didn't have the same reservations, tugging off his left shoe to turn it around in his hands. When he found nothing (that's not to say there was nothing there, Jungkook knew), Jimin pulled off his other one too, holding it up to his face, and peering at it in the dim light.

"Hobi, I need to know!"

Hoseok dropped down to sit next to Yoongi, the metal creaking beneath them. "Why would you assume it's only _one_ of your guys' shoes?"

Jimin groaned, flopping back. 

Hoseok got a glint in his eye, winking quickly at the maknae. "Don't worry Jiminnie, I won't tell the others where you go every Tuesday night with Ms. Kwan."

"Don't even try," Jimin warned, not even bothering to sit up. "They literally all know I volunteer that night."

"I don't know, sounds pretty suspect Jimin." Jungkook said slowly, and the man shot him a betrayed look. "Who is this Ms. Kwan?"

Jimin kicked out with his socked foot. Jungkook easily shifted out of the way.

"She's one of the ladies in the nursing home, she's like ninety-four! She made us that pie last Christmas, I won't have you slander her name."

They all let the joke die, caving. _That pie had been the best, even if it was a little burnt._

"... We really should call Tae." 

"Actually, he should be here by now." Hoseok said, squinting at the sky. "He trailed me most of the way here. Disappeared once I hit the east side, but the cloud cover got better there."

Seokjin's phone was already out of his pocket. "I'll call him-"

Jungkook caught a glimpse of a dark shadow against the slowly lightening sky before it vanished again.

"Ah, no need." he said. "Incoming."

They all looked up in time to see a distinctly Tae-shaped figure plummet out of the cloud above them, falling at breakneck speed. His wings were folded tight against him, almost invisible in the darkness, and Jungkook felt the immediate worry rise, looking quickly to Namjoon, but the leader just shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"He's fine."

And sure enough, Taehyung got close enough for them to make out his grin, far too close to the ground for comfort, before his wings finally snapped out to full length, and he was buffeted upwards. They all were left sputtering at the burst of wind. 

"Aish, does he have to do that?" Seokjin muttered, relaxing again. "I think I lose five years of my life every time _."_

Their seventh member slowly curved lower and lower, black feathers glittering even in the dull light, until he got close enough to come to a running stop on the next freight car over, graceful and controlled. He waved, and then easily jumped the three foot gap between the cars, giving a little flap of his wings to help boost, and Jungkook was momentarily struck again by the sheer size and agility of them. 

That is, until Taehyung tripped over Jimin's shoe as he landed, and yelped, floundering sideways and nearly falling off the roof had not Yoongi's arm shot out to grab him and yank him back to safety.

"Sit down for god's sake." the man grumbled and Taehyung flopped to sit, beaming smile already back.

Jimin guilty slid his shoes back on before anyone could look at him. 

"Sorry I'm late," Taehyung announced. "Look what I brought!"

And Jungkook finally caught sight of the cloth shopping bag in his hands. The man rustled around and triumphantly pulled out a green and blue can.

Hoseok lit up. 

"You brought a single Sprite." Seokjin said flatly.

Taehyung shot the eldest a derisive look, tossed the drink to Hoseok, and rustled around for a moment longer before he pulled out a pack of beers.

"Thought maybe it was that kind of night." he shrugged, and started handing them out.

_And Jungkook was starting to get the feeling that maybe it was._

They were all quiet for awhile. Jungkook had to get half-way through his drink before he finally worked up the courage to voice the weird feeling that had been sitting on his chest since they'd arrived.

"It feels... different now." he murmured. "Here."

Yoongi looked over at him briefly.

"Was it always..." Jimin trailed off. Took another drink instead. 

"This shitty?" Namjoon filled in dryly. "Yeah. It was."

Jungkook frowned, looking down at the rusting car beneath them. "I don't remember..." - _it being this bad._

"We were kids." Hoseok said and gave a little shrug. "It was better than where most of us had been living before."

Jungkook just... Their home in the freight car wasn't _fancy_ , it was barely even _nice,_ he'd always known that, even as a kid. But he didn't remember it being this _depressing,_ the trash and the rust and cold. 

"The memories are all through rose-colored lenses." Seokjin spoke up. His eyes were fixed on the rail yard spread out in front of them, the line after line of rusting, forgotten, train cars slowly growing more visible as the fog started to clear. "We've forgotten most of the terrible parts. That's how it works."

"Maybe for you." Namjoon grumbled. 

"Have a talk with your brain about that, that's not my problem." Seokjin shot back.

Jungkook stared down at the peeling blue rust beneath them. Someone had tagged this freight car recently, not even anything _nice,_ just an ugly spread of yellow and black paint. He felt a brief flash of anger at whoever had done this to _their_ place before he remembered this wasn't their place anymore. 

They'd moved everything out and it was nothing but an empty husk of metal waiting to be melted down for scrap one day when the city finally remembered this rail yard was here. And then there'd be nothing, nothing left of the place that had been _home,_ Jungkook's very first _real_ home, and nothing left of the laughter and tears shared in these thin walls. 

Jungkook's expression only furrowed slightly, because he wasn't about to bother the others with whatever this was as they shot stories back and forth, no matter what was squeezing painfully in his chest and his throat.

But it only grew, and Namjoon's concerned glances got a little less subtle. As Jungkook finally ducked his head, the leader nudged Taehyung, tilting his head towards their maknae, and Jungkook couldn't even bring himself to be angry as Taehyung ambled over to sit next to him instead. 

The man looped an arm over his shoulder, and his wing settled down to wrap around him, cutting off most of the cold wind. 

Jungkook reached out to fiddle with the soft contour feathers next to his arm, letting the repetitive motion calm him. 

Taehyung nudged his shoulder with his own. "You okay?" 

Jungkook waited until the others' conversation picked up again, even if it was a bit forced and overly casual, clearly for his sake. 

"I don't know." he muttered. "It just... doesn't feel the same as it used to."

Taehyung made an understanding noise, and his wing wrapped a little tighter around him. The weight of it was comforting, and Jungkook let himself slump a little more.

"I know. It used to be our place." Taehyung said. "But it's empty now. It's sad."

"Yeah." Jungkook said, and for some reason his eyes were stinging. "It used to be _home._ "

Taehyung laughed a little against him and Jungkook shot him a hurt look, tugging a little more sharply on one of his feathers. 

The man sobered, apologetic. "Sorry, Kookie. It's just, the freight car was never _home_."

Jungkook's stomach sank, heavy with a strange sort of betrayal, but Taehyung just smiled a bit.

"It was our home, but not our _home_."

Jungkook didn't understand.

"Just like the apartment wasn't _h_ _ome,_ and the penthouse isn't _h_ _ome._ They're just places, with furniture, and items, and decorations. There's only one thing that really changes them from places into a home."

He tilted his head and Jungkook followed his gaze to the other five sitting on the freight car, Jimin, already half asleep, leaned on Hoseok's shoulder, Namjoon talking loudly, hands flourishing in the air, to Yoongi, who was nodding in all the rights spots, but absolutely not actually listening to a word, completely focused on swirling a tiny flame around his fingers (understandable, as they'd all heard this particular rant about capitalism a thousand times). And Hoseok and Seokjin, snickering over some old story too quiet for Jungkook to hear, noses flushed with the cold, trading drinks every so often.

And Taehyung smiled again, feathers brushing against Jungkook's arm. 

"It doesn't matter where we are. Or where we live." he said, with a slight shrug, and his wings shifted with him, letting in a cold gust of wind before they settled down again.

"We'll always be home."

Something in his chest eased, and Jungkook relaxed a little further into the feathers. He absentmindedly hunched a bit so his neck was covered from the wind.

_We'll always be home._

"Aish, that's so sappy, hyung." he muttered. 

Taehyung's jaw dropped, and he rocked backward, shaking him lightly. "Yah! That was _poetic_ and _emotional,_ and all you have to say is _that's sappy?_ Aish, I can't believe you-"

But Jungkook found himself smiling, and when Taehyung caught sight of it, he grinned too, calming down again. 

The maknae thought his friend might call him out on his clear deflection, but Taehyung didn't say anything more, just snaked an arm around his shoulders again, and turned to save Yoongi from Namjoon's thirty-minute rant on intellectual elitism (it was always thirty-minutes, at the very _least,_ if you didn't manage to redirect him early on).

It _was_ sad, still. To see the freight car so empty and lifeless, and this whole place so derelict _._

But Taehyung was right (not that Jungkook was going to to admit it to him).

Home wasn't a place. It was people. _These_ people. 

The freight car had given them what they needed, all those years ago. A place out of the snow, warmth, and books, and _family_ for the first time. For that, Jungkook felt strangely grateful.

He reached out a hand to touch the cool metal of the roof, letting the chill seep into his fingers, so familiar. The maknae closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment on sending _thank you_ down into the metal. Then he suddenly remembered Namjoon's presence and snatched his hand back, feeling his face flush.

But the leader just stumbled a bit over his words, blinking down at the freight car in confusion. He didn't seem to realize the source and within a few seconds started up another completely unrelated sentence about how beautiful crabs were _and_ _okay, looks like they needed to get the leader back to their place, he'd was clearly a little (a lot) past tipsy._

Jungkook glanced down at the roof again, but didn't reach out a second time. He buried his hand in Taehyung's feathers instead, warm and shifting and full of life. They watched the sun finally stretch it's rays past the low cloud cover, painting the whole rail yard and the last of the fog in a golden haze.

Some time later, Hoseok leaned over to them, gently shaking Jimin awake with his other hand. "I think it's time to go. Namjoon's stuck on the hermit crab thing again."

"- _line up_ by size to try on a new shell, and they'll _trade-_ " the leader was explaining, eyes suspiciously shiny.

Seokjin was patting Namjoon's shoulder with vaguely exasperated expression, and Jungkook was pretty sure Yoongi was recording the scene.

"-and if it doesn't fit, they'll wait patiently until _another_ crab comes that fits the new shell, and then take that other crab's _old_ shell, they're so _smart_ , but no one appreciates them, it's the _perfect system_ -" 

Taehyung sighed, but he still looked a little fond. "Yep, that's our cue to head home."

Jungkook shot his friend a bewildered look, grabbing his sleeve as he tried to get up. "But Tae... I thought we already _were_ home." 

Taehyung blinked at him for a second, brow furrowing, before he caught the glint in Jungkook's eye.

"Yah, you!" he sputtered. "That's not- ugh-"

He reached out, probably to shake some sense into his best friend, but Jungkook had anticipated this and was already gone, nothing but empty air left in his place.

Yoongi cursed as Jungkook popped into existence next to him, and Namjoon startled badly, but Jungkook paid them no mind, leaning out from behind the two and shooting Taehyung a mischievous grin.

"So where are we going then, Tae? If we're already home?"

Taehyung made a face at him, but had no way to get past the five people between them currently in the process of standing up (or being hauled to their feet, in Namjoon's case) as they all got ready to leave.

"Already home? What are you two talking about?" Seokjin asked. Then he shook his head sharply, expression turning grim. "Actually, never mind, I don't want to know, we have bigger things to worry about right now."

Jungkook went still, alarm blooming in his chest. "What is it, hyung?"

"... How are we going to get Namjoon down from here?"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of the brief cameos, some of AB6IX whooohooooo!! (they're just popping in for this chapter) 
> 
> Just a heads up that the next few chapters will be probably be much shorter than usual, I’m gonna try cutting down the word count in hopes that’ll allow me to update faster and be less stressed!! My mental health is struggling at the moment, so if things aren't quite as polished as usual, that'll be why. I love working on this story though, it's not going anywhere!
> 
> hope the stars shine bright for you all tonight!! <3


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